Love's A Miracle
by DreamsRMyLife
Summary: Summary: Apparently, she didn’t exist.  Obviously, she did.  But, only he saw.  Was he going crazy?  Of course not.  He was just as sane as the day before....And that      was still there...in room E33.  TezukaxOC
1. Prologue

** Prologue**

In retrospect, he wondered if perhaps he should've listened to the rumours and, like everyone else, never entered room E-33.

E-33. Eerie-thirty-three. Or, as people liked to put it, E-6. 3 + 3 6. 666 was for the . They said that the room was haunted by a who committed .

Well. That's what was said at least...

He, being the lucky, responsible and the best I-can-beat-the-teachers-in-smarts-and-maturity guy in the school, had been sent to fetch a set of keys that had fallen onto the floor and got kicked under the door. The room had been locked, so he was entrusted with the keys to open it and then return both sets of keys to their rightful places.

Easy enough, right? That's what he had thought...

The soft click of the lock turning was heard, and he pulled the keys out and opened the door. Looking up from the doorway, his eyes widened as he saw a standing by the window, about to jump.

Her hair was platinum blond. From what he could tell from behind, she was a first year, wearing a very old school uniform that was a dark purple. It was all one piece, and the skirt was cut off just short of the knees to allow for a black lace underskirt to be shown. Underneath _that_ was a very thin white silk skirt. She wore light blue leggings that matched a bit of a cuff on her sleeves, and to top it all off had clean button shoes that were black.

Shoes that were on feet currently on the window sill.

"Wait!!" He called, springing forward in a burst of panic-shaded adrenaline.

Just as she was about to fall forward, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, not caring that she was pulled into him and that he, in turn, had backed up against a desk harshly.

The held still for a moment, then slowly turned. "You saw me...?" A faint voice asked. "You touched me...?"

Now that she was facing him, he saw that it was indeed an old school uniform. On the front was a design of a white cross, right by the neck. There was also a small layer that wrapped just around her shoulders, with some black lace there as well. Stunningly wise indigo eyes with a hint of surprise in them stared up at him.

"Why'd you stop me?" She asked.

"I didn't want you to jump and die." He answered bluntly. _Is she suicidal?_

"I wasn't really going to die. I can't; I'm already dead."

**I'm already dead.**

Tezuka's amber eyes widened somewhat behind his glasses. "You're what...?" He took a closer look at her. Yes, now that he saw her against something other than a clear sky, she was rather translucent..._How did I conclude that so calmly?_ He wondered vaguely. He was pretty sure that about now, someone should be panicking. Then again...he was Tezuka.

The window slid shut by itself and the thin, dusty white curtains were drawn. The door also closed with the slightest of creaks and a click. He didn't need to turn around to know that.

"I said...I'm already dead. A ghost. Spirit. Not-living-anymore." She was also floating two inches off the floor, and now went to his eye level, which made her a foot off the floor. "Not many people can see me. It's rare that I find someone who has a bit of a 6th sense." She folded her hands neatly in her lap as she proceeded to sit in midair. "Those that do come in here, claim there's a ghost, and then they're gone. That's why no one comes in here anymore."

Tezuka sat down on top of one of the few desks left in the room, and rubbed his temples. He was going to get a headache from this, he was sure. "...So why haven't you left to a different classroom, if no one will come in this one?"

"They can't see me. It's hard on a soul, being there but never seen...never heard..." She sighed. "Besides, this is where I died. If I leave here I'll have to attach myself to someone, and be stuck with them until they come back to E-33. Not a pleasant prospect, if I don't like the person."

She gave him a smile. "So what are you doing here? You had the keys, so there must be a reason."

He stood, inwardly berating himself for forgetting. "A set of keys was ally kicked under the door..." He debated looking around the very dusty and dirty room. His spot was basically the only clean one. Looking back at her, he asked politely "I don't suppose you've seen them?"

"Yes, I have." She answered cheerfully, reaching into her skirt pocket to pull out the keys. She passed them to him. As his hand brushed hers he noticed how chilled it was.

"Thank you." He said, turning to leave.

"Will you come back sometime?"

He hesitated at the pleading question. Would he? Should he?...Yes, he should. "...Yes. I will."

She smiled brightly. "I'll have the door kept unlocked. I'll be waiting."

He looked back once as he made to close the door behind him, to see her solitary form floating there, amidst swirling dust and sunbeams, alone. Looking so lonely.

Thinking back on how she had looked then, the first time they'd met, he was glad that he had entered E-33.


	2. Time passes by

** Chapter 1: Time passes by**

The next day, at lunch, Tezuka stepped into the abandoned classroom with his bento. About to call for the girl, he realized that he didn't even know her name. _Wasn't that polite of me?_ He berated himself, stepping further inside. The door swung shut with the familiar creak and click.

"You came!" She said, face full of relief as she appeared in front of him. "Oh, and you brought your lunch!" She looked around the room, and with a flick of her finger the window opened. A wave of her hand caused a whirling wind that made Tezuka close his eyes.

When he opened them, the room was completely clean, the few tables neatly arranged with their respectable chairs. All in all, it looked much more cheerful with the sunlight hitting it through the curtains, despite the lights not being on. It even lost that musty-classroom smell to be replaced by the sweet sakura fragrances from the trees outside.

"So what's your name?" She asked when they were both sitting.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu." He answered. "And you are?"

"Sahya." She answered. "I've forgotten my last name."

His eyebrows twitched upward in mild surprise. Easily reading his expression, Sahya smiled. "I've been here for just over a century now. Needless to say, even though I never made it past my first year if I was alive I could skip about all of school."

Tezuka finished his lunch and cleaned up what little mess he made. "That uniform isn't Seigaku's though." He noted.

"This school used to be an all-girls school." She answered. "There was an all-boys school next to it, but they demolished it for housing. It had fewer boys than there were girls, so it made sense to get rid of it and have a mixed school."

Glancing at his watch, Tezuka stood. "I have to go to tennis practice..."

"Tennis?" She floated through the tables as she followed him to the door.

"Yeah." He watched half of her go through a chair. "How could you pick up the keys, but go through furniture?" He asked, curiosity overpowering his habit to stay silent.

"It's odd that way..." She answered, shrugging a little. "I can pick stuff up, but anything else goes through me. I can't stop something from being thrown at me. I'm sure at some points, you'd go right through me too." She pointed in a broken mirror on the wall. "People without a sixth sense can only see me if I'm right in front of a mirror. For some reason that's the only way a reflection of me will show."

Tezuka thought for a moment. "...When you attach onto someone, what happens?"

Sahya tilted her head slightly. "Nothing, really. Except that I follow them around everywhere."

"Then you should come with me to the tennis courts." He said. "Come outside for a bit."

She gave him a huge hug. "Thank you!!" The door opened for him, and he walked out, her floating easily behind him so she was at shoulder height and able to look him in the face.

He walked out into the changerooms. Unfortunately she wasn't able to wait outside, but after 100 years who would still be bashful about that stuff? It's not like they got naked or anything. Tezuka was surprised, but didn't say anything about it.

"Everyone 20 laps!" He shouted at the club members. _Inui better not make more of those drinks of his..._

"What kind of drinks?" Sahya asked, startling him somewhat.

_You heard my thoughts_? He thought, to see if it was true.

"Sure did. That's the small catch with me being attached." She said sheepishly. "But I won't hear them unless you direct them at me, so...you still have your privacy. Besides, this way people don't think you're a lunatic for talking to air."

_Point taken_. He thought, as practice started. Soon the Regulars got into their training as well. Tezuka mentally pointed out the Regulars and gave their names. Then it happened...

Inui brought out his latest concoction.

The lap pace suddenly increased among the Regulars. Sahya giggled as she was just pulled along, since Tezuka was running rather fast and she didn't feel like floating after him. "It's like waterskiing or something only without water...or skis..." For the first time in a while, she was enjoying herself, and Tezuka could hear her delightful laugh over the speed of the wind passing by as he ran.

Fuji, who was near Tezuka, tilted his head slightly. "Huh...I thought I heard something just now..."

Sahya jolted slightly. "Can you hear me, Fuji?" She called loudly while facing him.

Fuji frowned slightly. "It feels like _something's _here, but...maybe I'm just going crazy, huh Tezuka?" He laughed softly.

_Does he have a 6__th__ sense too?_ Tezuka asked.

"Not nearly as strongly as you do." Sahya answered. "You can actually touch me. His hand would go right through me. But he can tell I'm here, so he's got a small trickle in his veins."

"I doubt you're as crazy as you think right now, Fuji." Tezuka said to the tensai. Fuji gave him a questioning look, but Tezuka had focused once more on running.

Once everyone was done, Inui was wondering what to do with his drink. _I hope he doesn't plan to use that still in practice..._

Hearing this, Sahya's smile widened. "Well, if you hate it that much..." She snapped her fingers, and suddenly the table the drinks were on collapsed. The jug holding the juice ed and it all leaked out.

The Regulars stared agape. Inui adjusted his glasses. "Odd...how did the table collapse?...And that thermos shouldn't have cracked at all from the rate of impact..."

The ground was turning an unhealthy shade of blackish brown from the (she swear it was glowing somewhat) green liquid. Sahya winced. "A drink that does _that_ to ground _can't_ be healthy..."

Tezuka, while debating whether or not he should berate her or thank her, decided on the safe option three: clean up the mess first. "Let's get this cleared up!" He called a trio of freshmen over to deal with the upturned glasses (which hadn't broken though the thermos had), and to remove the thermos, while he had Momoshiro and Kawamura remove the table into the storage room to be dealt with later.

Sahya was laughing so hard her sides were hurting. "My goodness! I haven't had this much fun in ages! Open air feels so good!"

Tezuka held in a sigh. _Much as I appreciate you getting rid of the drinks, you didn't have to waste a table as well._ He chided.

"It's been so long..." Sahya said wistfully. "So long since I've laughed...it's about time that I come as close to living as I can again. You don't know how long it seems, waiting day after night for something that you lose hope is going to ever come..." She smiled, tears leaking down her face. "Tezuka, I owe you so much right now. I'll try and repay you any way I can. I promise not to just be in the way!"

Tezuka discreetly gave her hand a squeeze, feeling the cool skin against his own. _...That's ok then. I'm sure you can fix the table. I'll drop you off at E-33 after practice and then see you in the morning before class starts._

"Thank you...thank you..." She whispered, hugging him.

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The next morning, when the members went to try and judge if the table was repairable or not, they were shocked—almost as much as when it "broke"—to find it good as new, as if nothing had happened to it.

Tezuka knew he shouldn't feel amused, but he couldn't help it. He just didn't let it show.


	3. Seeing is believing

** Chapter 2: Seeing is believing**

"Hey Oishi, do you know where Tezuka disappears to all the time?" Eiji asked his partner.

Oishi looked up in surprise, and slowly shook his head. "Now that you mention it, he has been going off on his own lately…I wonder where?"

"Let's follow him this lunch period!" Momoshiro said. The others agreed.

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Sahya rested her arms on Tezuka's broad shoulder, and then gently placing her head on them as he ate quietly.

He wasn't a people person; that's something Tezuka Kunimitsu was not. Boys were hard enough to deal with; girls were very near to reaching impossible. But Sahya was easy to be with. She wasn't overly talkative, for one; sometimes she'd start up a conversation, and occasionally he would take the initiative, but most times it was very peaceful. That meant his mono-everything answers didn't kill the conversation. Although eventually he knew he'd have to work on that...

She didn't ask for much. In fact, she had made it clear that all she needed was someone to be there and know she existed. She had always respected his privacy in his thoughts, and allowed him to concentrate while on the outside.

And he hadn't missed how she was always looking out for him.

Flashback

He was discussing an important matter with Ryuzaki, and it required a lot of thinking on both ends. So when an angry member used all he had in a serve and it went out of control, it came straight to him and he wasn't aware of it.

Sahya was, though. With a small exclamation to give him warning, he found his body suddenly moving on its own as his hand moved back to catch the ball before it hit his head. He stared at the tennis ball in his hand for a split second, and then at the member responsible for it.

Less than 15 seconds later that member was running laps. _Did you…?_

"Yes. It seems that I was able to make your body react." She answered sheepishly. "That would've been one nasty clout to the head."

_Thank you._

End Flashback

"Club is cancelled today after school." Tezuka said, finished eating. "So I'll be going straight home. But if you'd like, you can come over and stay the night."

Sahya smiled. _That's what's so nice about him. He treats me like he would a living person, not like some ghost completely dependant on him. It shows in the way he talks to me._ "That sounds nice. I'll help with dinner!"

"That's alright, you'll be a guest." Tezuka said. "I wouldn't want to-"

Sahya's indigo eyes widened and she spun to face the door. It slammed shut loudly, indicating that it had been opened a crack. Tezuka jumped slightly, startled, for neither had known the door had opened. Banging was heard from the other side after the doorknob was tested.

"Tezuka!" Oishi's voice called. "Tezuka, the door's locked!!"

"They were going to spy on you!" Sahya said in disapproval, hands into her skirt. The doorknob kept rattling, but the door never opened, for she had locked it.

Tezuka stood, moving towards the door. "...Let them in."

She allowed him to open the door, to come face to face with his teammates. "That was close!" Momoshiro said. "Buchou, you were almost locked in!"

"But what were you doing in the haunted room anyways?" Eiji asked.

"I've been meeting someone here." Tezuka said vaguely. He stepped out of the room and strode down the hallway, leaving the Regulars behind.

Sahya appeared by his side again. "You know, for now, you did the right thing in not telling." She said, grateful that he had kept her secret. "For most people, 'seeing is believing', and to believe something like a ghost story they'll want proof." She sighed sadly. "I can't give them that proof without probably scaring them."

_Yeah. Do you still want to come to my house tonight?_ Tezuka asked, hoping to cheer her up a little.

"Of course!"

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Tezuka entered his home, greeted his grandparents, and then went straight to his room for homework. "Your home is really tidy." Sahya appraised. "It's definitely got a warm-home feeling."

"That's mostly because of my grandmother." Tezuka said, pulling out his notebooks. "My parents aren't around anymore, so I stay with my grandparents." He put more lead into a mechanical pencil. "Where did you used to live?"

"In England." Sahya answered, sitting down in the air. "My family was English-speaking, but my father always got business trips to Japan. Eventually he wanted to bring my whole family with him, so we learned Japanese." She gazed at a few medals on the dresser, reading the dates and realizing they were from when he was in elementary school, more recent ones closer to the front from Seigaku. "I moved first out of everyone so I could get into the private school. Unfortunately that meant my family couldn't help me with issues concerning other students."

Tezuka didn't stop his homework, but he was interested, so he nodded to encourage her to keep talking.

"They said I was like a doll. Beautiful and delicate, sweet and quiet...it was pretty even, those who liked me and those who didn't, and then there were those who just didn't care." She shrugged a bit as she gazed at the homework. "I didn't realize just how bad jealousy can turn people."

To ask any further right now, Tezuka knew he'd be prodding too much. But he agreed; jealousy did cause people to do unthinkable things. His mind drifted back briefly to the junior who had tried to break his arm. That student would have been expelled if he did so, but he wasn't thinking rationally. It was a scary thought.

"You know, if you make dinner I can help!" Sahya offered.

"I don't want a guest to have to cook." Tezuka argued. "And I haven't actually entertained you at all..." There was no breaking away from the strict manners his grandfather had rubbed into him.

"It's ok." Sahya assured him, laughing lightly. "Come on; I can make a great Japanese dinner."

Tezuka finally relented, and went down into the kitchen, where Sahya proceeded to call various ingredients, utensils, and cooking appliances towards her. He closed the kitchen door just in case his grandparents decided to come in. They really didn't need to see spices floating around in the air, and a pan cooking by itself.

He still didn't like having a guest to the cooking, but when he and his family sat down for dinner, it was quite good. He made sure to pass that on to Sahya, then realized that in doing so she probably would take over cooking duties from now on to help him out. _I suppose it can't be helped. She wants to feel useful...she wants to feel alive. And I'm the only one who can give her that feeling._


	4. Over the edge

** Chapter 3: Over the edge**

Tezuka was walking down the halls with Sahya floating right after him, on his way to the tennis club room. Being captain of the tennis team, he had a bunch of paperwork that went with it that Ryuzaki didn't handle. His days were steadily getting busier.

As he passed a less-used hallway, he noticed 3 figures there. One was a girl, and towering over her were 2 guys. He immediately grasped the situation. _She's being bullied._

"We have to help her!" Sahya exclaimed suddenly, eyes glued to the scene.

_It's best to tell a teacher about it first._ Tezuka thought to her.

"But..." Sahya looked from him back to the girl. She was grabbed roughly and pulled away from the wall towards the end of the hall. Something in her snapped. Her blond hair waved wildly from an unseen wind as her eyes widened and glowed blue. One by one, moving quickly down the hallway, the windows cracked and shattered.

Tezuka hurried over to where the 3 students were to make sure they were alright. The two boys ran off, leaving him with the girl. He brought her to the school nurse and told her about the bullying incident, then returned with the custodians to the hallway with all the shattered glass.

_...Why were you so angry that the windows cracked?_ He asked finally.

Sahya looked away, feeling a bit ashamed of herself. "...I'm sorry. At my school, there were girls who started becoming jealous of me. They also harassed me." She floated to the window panes, sitting on the edge with a small, sad smile. "It was because I got the attention of the best student in the nextdoor boys' school. Of all the things, it was over a boy who I had no interest in."

Tezuka started walking back to E-33, forcing her to come with him. "What happened then?" He asked quietly once they were safely inside.

"...They locked me in here."

Sahya looked around at the room, taking it all in. "The mirror was broken in the scuffle. Then..." She turned to look at the window that he had first seen her standing at. "...They pushed me out." She floated over, placing her hands gently on the sill. A few tears fell on her hands as she looked down. "They said it was suicide. It was never disproved."

Now Tezuka understood. She was trapped here because of feelings of sadness, anger, betrayal, and a longing for a happiness that was cut short. That was why she was still in the realm of the living. "..."

"I'm sorry." She said again. "They will probably try and get revenge on you." She closed her eyes painfully. "I'll stay here if you want...And if I stay with you, I'll deal with it. It's up to you. I know I've given you more problems than help."

Tezuka strode over and closed the open window, taking her cold hands gently. "...That's not true." He said finally. It was always reassuring for him. To know that if he turned around, there she would be, smiling at him. Just around the corner of his eye. How had she slipped through his defences so quickly? Oh well. It didn't matter, really. "Come on. Let's go back to my house."

Sahya wiped her tears away and gave him the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. "...Ok, Tezuka."

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Tezuka entered his classroom at the end of that week to find that, once again, his desk looked just like normal. Sahya knew better. She snapped her fingers and a few clunks were heard before Tezuka finally put his bag down and sat down.

The textbooks from his locker were waterlogged. Someone had poured water through the small holes in the doors. A wave of Sahya's hand returned them to normal. She could only keep the classroom locker from opening for anyone but Tezuka; when it came to the holes and cubbies she couldn't do a thing but deal with it when Tezuka got there.

Some attempts at revenge on Tezuka were dangerous. Three times she had misdirected falling objects from windows and the stairs. Five times from food in the cafeteria. Although he normally brought a boxed lunch for the classroom, he occasionally ate with some of the Regulars there.

Sahya kept fully alert with her heightened senses as a spirit as Tezuka and the Regulars played tennis. But surely those two boys wouldn't be so daring as to target Tezuka in front of a whole club of potential witnesses.

_Do you need to pick up anything for dinner tonight?_ Tezuka asked as he dismissed everyone for the day. He turned away and started walking towards the school. He still had some papers to deal with regarding the club.

"I don't think I need anything..." Sahya said thoughtfully, floating just behind his shoulder as always, at his eye level. As they approached the doors and turned to go around the wall that acted as a rail, for the stairs, Tezuka took an immediate step back. His body went right through Sahya, and up before her loomed a figure swinging down a golf club.

Her eyes dilated slightly and turned into a hard amethyst instead of their usual sparkling indigo pools. A force shot out around her and Tezuka. The figure was tossed to the ground past them as Tezuka was forced by her power to sidestep. A second figure shot up from the other wall on the other side, but now no longer in an ideal position to hit him since he moved.

Sahya turned slowly, raising her hand. She suddenly faced it palm up and the other boy was squeezed tightly to the point where he lost his breath. But he wasn't being released to get it back. "Sahya!" Tezuka called sharply, when he realized what she was doing.

She released him and recoiled in the air, startled. He fell gasping to the ground, but was too stunned to make another attack. Shakily, Sahya held up her hands. "My god..."

"What do you boys think you're doing?!"

Ryuzaki came jogging up. Sternly she grabbed both boys and hoisted them up. "I think we're paying a little trip to the office..." She looked at Tezuka. "Are you alright Tezuka?"

"Yeah." He answered, adding "I was lucky that the first one missed."

"Is this the first time they've gone after you?" Ryuzaki asked.

"No."

Tezuka and Ryuzaki turned to see the Regulars come up. Fuji was the one who had spoken, and he was watching Tezuka closely. "...They've bothered him all week. They've tried to tamper with his desk, luckily he was never injured, they've tampered with his locker and his textbooks..." He hesitated to give more detail there.

"They've tried dropping things on him in the stairs and from windows." Ryoma piped up. He returned the glare given to him by the two guilty boys.

"Well, this is serious. We should get going now so we're all home in a reasonable time." Ryuzaki said, walking off with the two in custody.

Now the Regulars turned back to Tezuka, but Tezuka was busy looking at Sahya. He was worried, and a little showed up on his facial expression. Sahya hadn't moved from her position, instead she was still staring at her hands. "...I almost killed them..." She whispered, horrified.

_Sahya..._ He wished he could reach out to her, but the others were here. For once he wished they would leave him alone to deal with his own issues.

"Tezuka..." Oishi started hesitantly. "This isn't just luck or coincidence."

Ryoma looked up at his captain. "Mind explaining just what is going on?"

"And I'm guessing the answer is related somehow to E-33." Fuji added.

Tezuka looked between them and Sahya, although to them he looked at them and then away again. "...Tomorrow after school, I'll show you. Right now I've got something I have to deal with." Grabbing Sahya's hand quickly with one hand and opening the doors to the school with his other, he hurried inside.

"...Odd..." Fuji muttered. "It almost looked like...he was holding someone's hand...but nothing was there."

Tezuka hurried to the room where the tennis club held meetings and closed the door and locked it behind him just in case. Moving to the chairs, he sat down and had Sahya do the same in the air directly across from him. She didn't look up at him, only gazed remorsefully at the ground. "I lost control...I didn't want to kill them...and still I almost did..." She whispered.

She felt her shoulders grabbed and looked up finally to meet his gaze, almost afraid of what she'd find there. "...It's alright." Her eyes widened slightly. Tezuka continued. "I'm not going to say that it wasn't wrong, almost killing them. But you lost control and that was an accident, and I know you'll learn from that. So don't let it depress you."

Sahya sighed, and a few tears leaked out from her closed eyes. Once they dripped off her cheeks they disappeared. "Yeah..." She wiped her eyes dry. "Yeah..." She felt Tezuka bring her close. She didn't feel the warmth of his skin like he felt the cold of hers, but she felt him holding her and for that she was grateful.

Gently she dropped her head forward to rest it on his shoulder. "...You called me by my name." She smiled a bit. "You haven't done so until now."

Tezuka remained silent for a few moments in slight embarrassment, since he wasn't sure how to react to that. "...You may call me by my name if you want."

"Kunimitsu..." Sahya's smile grew. Then it faded again. "...We have to show them tomorrow. Here's the plan..."


	5. Her plan, her pain

** Chapter 4: Her plan, her pain**

"So why do we have to meet them in the boys bathroom?" Momoshiro asked as all the Regulars gathered in the otherwise empty place.

"It has a large mirror with few people." Tezuka answered. "You'll only see her with the mirror without a 6th sense."

"A 6th sense? What, are you talking about ghosts?" Momoshiro asked, laughing a bit. "Sorry, I don't believe in them any..." He trailed off as Tezuka moved into sight of the long mirror above the sinks.

"Where is she?" Fuji asked quietly.

"She's always been just around the corner of my eye." Tezuka answered.

And before their eyes Sahya appeared just past his shoulder. She smiled. "Hello."

"What did she say?" Fuji asked. "We couldn't hear her."

"She said hi." Tezuka said for Sahya. "She's a ghost. Her spirit stayed inside room E-33 because that's where she was murdered. They claimed it was a suicide though. This is from when Seigaku was an all-girls school next to an all-boys school."

"But that would be..." Inui trailed off as he calculated. "189 years ago."

"I don't think I can believe this..." Kawamura murmured in astonishment. "She's really there? She blinks in and out of my sight."

"She said that happens sometimes." Tezuka said, nodding. "She can only leave E-33 when she's attached to someone, so I've been allowing her to follow me around. I don't ask for anything in return but she does her best to be helpful."

They were still sceptical, minus Fuji, so Oishi pulled out a small handheld mirror of his own (no one asked why he had it on him) and she appeared in that reflection as well. "Are they satisfied yet?" Sahya asked.

Tezuka spoke her question aloud to them. "I'm still not sure about this..." Momoshiro admitted.

As soon as he finished speaking all the toilets flushed and the faucets turned on, as well as the motion sensor hand dryers. Just as quickly they shut off. "I believe it now!" Momoshiro hastened to say, eyes wide.

"Good. Let's not speak a word of this to anyone else." Tezuka said, before excusing himself. Sahya followed, of course. He went to leave the school to find it raining. _Should I go back for my umbrella?_

Sahya gestured with her hand and it came flying from his locker to his hand.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She said, as they walked/floated off. The rain went right through her. She held up a hand and turned her face up to the sky like she had always done when alive. Sadly, the rain passed right through and she couldn't feel a thing.

"Sahya, you're crying..." Tezuka informed her quietly.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered painfully. "I can't stop..."

A light wind blew, tossing Tezuka's bangs a bit. Her hair didn't even rustle.

_What could it possibly be like, not feeling anything that proves you're alive?_ He thought, as he waited for her to gather herself together again. _Is there no way for her to move on, or even...to live again?_

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"I'm home." Tezuka called to his grandparents as he stepped inside his warm, dry house.

"Oh, welcome back..." His grandmother said, coming down the hall. "Kunimitsu, I hate to ask you this after you just got back, but..."

"Yes?" He asked.

"Some family friends came over from England, but they had an accident awhile ago." She said worriedly. "Their poor daughter has been in a coma for years now, and since they moved to a house in the city she was be transferred to a place here. Could you bring them some cookies I baked and some flowers?"

Tezuka took the cookie tin she held out and set his bag down to pick up the bouquet. "Of course. What is their last name?"

"Tsuriko."

Tezuka nodded and left. Sahya was quiet though. _Tsuriko...that sounds almost familiar..._ She stayed quiet the whole way, and Tezuka just listened to the sound of the rain. But as soon as he stepped on the hospital threshold, something happened.

Feeling a tugging at her chest, Sahya winced and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Energy crackled around her, forcing Tezuka to back away from her in surprise. The glass doors near her cracked and broke. Sahya shut her eyes tightly as she felt a powerful force drawing her upwards, and gasped.

Right before his eyes, she disappeared. Looking around quickly, he caught no glimpse of her anywhere, and apprehension took over. _Where is she? What happened? Is she alright...?_

But she didn't reappear to answer his questions. "...Sahya..."

Beneath the worry he felt, he noted a suddenly empty feeling. She wasn't attached to him any longer. She wasn't even nearby.

So where was she...?


	6. Give miracles a chance

** Chapter 5: Give miracles a chance**

"And so...you haven't seen her all week?" Oishi asked.

Tezuka shook his head. "I've checked E-33, around the school, my house, and at the hospital, but..." _But nothing. There's no trace of her._

And that was the oddest thing. He had checked around the hospital, and before he left he went to the hospital room. There on the bed had been a girl with long blond hair and pale skin, and he had almost dropped the flowers he was holding.

She had looked just like a third year version of Sahya. He didn't know her eye colour, but the facial features and everything else looked just like her.

"I can ask my sister." Fuji suggested. "She must have a 6th sense of some sort, with her Tarot readings."

Seeing as he was running out of options fast, he nodded. Then he turned and left for home.

In hospital room 5-33, the dials on the machines were spinning wildly out of control, and the monitor hooked up to the still body was sending out erratic pulse wavelengths. The oxygen mask was force off as the person started breathing on their own once more...

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"Tezuka!"

Tezuka stopped and looked back at the tensai jogging to catch up to him. Fuji put a comforting hand on the stoic teen's shoulder. "My sister tried, but all she told me was... 'A miracle's about to happen'. I know it's not much, but..."

"But it's something." He finished, giving an almost inaudible sigh.

"...How long have you known her?" Fuji asked.

"...Just over a few weeks." Tezuka admitted. _Has it really only been that long? It feels like I've known her longer for some reason._

"Just 2 weeks?" Fuji asked in surprise. _That's interesting. I didn't think he could bond with someone in such a short time._ _Learn something new every day I suppose..._ "Well...I'm sure it'll work out somehow."

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Darkness. And...warmth? How long had it been since she felt warmth? She almost forgot the feeling, and it was pure bliss now that she remembered it.

But why was she warm?

Slowly she opened her indigo eyes to be met with a white ceiling. _That's not the classroom..._ Sitting up, she found heavy medical equipment surrounding her. _Am I still in the hospital where I passed out? What happened to me?_

She felt. She was warm under the blankets. Carefully she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. Only she promptly fell back onto the bed as her legs gave out in surprise. She wasn't floating anymore, and the sudden weight came as a shock.

It was then that she noticed the doctors and nurses in the room, staring at her.

They could see her.

Sahya's eyes widened as she gazed back. _They see me...humans see me..._ "...Is this the hospital in Japan?" She asked quietly.

They nodded.

So they could hear her too. Slowly, she stood up again, no longer shocked about losing that feeling of weightlessness. One doctor came up. "Do you remember your name?" He asked slowly.

"Sahya." She replied instantly. "But I forgot my last name."

"Tsuriko." They supplied.

_Isn't that the name of the girl Kunimitsu went to deliver flowers to...?_ Sahya thought, but kept that to herself. _Wait...what if..._

What if this girl whose comatose body she had taken over was like her reincarnation? They were a family with a Japanese background, just moved from England...And she just looked 2 years older; that was all that was different about her.

This girl's parents, 'her' parents, came rushing in. _They look the same as my parents..._ She thought, as they cried and embraced her. She didn't hug back though. It wasn't something she had grown accustomed to, after all. She had spent so much time dead, and while alive her parents treated her as a doll and didn't come in contact with her. She was more of a display for them. So it was only natural that she was unused to contact and comfort. She was a precious doll to her parents.

And thanks to that, she didn't even know how to ask for comfort anymore. But as she gazed blankly around her surroundings, she thought, _It's almost like..._

_...like I've been given a chance to start my life over again._


	7. The new doll

** Chapter 6: The new doll**

Tezuka was walking to class when he felt that empty feeling disappear. Did that mean...?

He turned to look over his shoulder.

Standing there in the Seigaku uniform was Sahya. Looking like a third year. His eyes widened as he took in that and the fact that she was on the ground. "Sahya...?"

She smiled, an image of perfection. Her indigo eyes sparkled. "Kunimitsu. It seems I've been given a chance to live again."

"The girl in the hospital...?" He asked hesitantly.

"I think she was my reincarnation. I seem to have inhabited her body indefinitely." She answered. "But these are my looks exactly." She took the last few steps to him. "I convinced my parents to let me come to Seigaku instead of Hyoutei."

Tezuka resisted the urge to take her hand. Then people might see, and that could raise awkward questions. "I...I'm glad you're alright." He said instead. "You had me worried."

"I'm sorry." She apologized, and even her sad apologetic looks were perfect.

"Are there any effects from going from being a..." Tezuka trailed off.

"It's ok, no one's in hearing distance." She said, smiling. "I seem to..." She concentrated. Her eyes glowed faintly blue and her school bag floated in the air on its own before she held it by the handle again. "I seem to have inherited telekinesis from my time as a ghost."

"Just be careful where and how often you use it." Tezuka warned. "Your eyes glow when you activate it."

She laughed lightly. "That's good to know. Of course, I'll be careful like you said. Let's get to class, Kunimitsu."

"Yeah." He smiled. It was the faintest of smiles, but for him, a smile nonetheless.

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"Have you seen the new student?"

"Of course!"

"She's from England right? Is she a star, or a model? She's got to be a model!"

"If she isn't she should be!"

Sahya sat in the classroom, reading a small book by the window. Talk had spread all around the school.

"Sitting there right now, isn't she like, perfection?"

"She sure seems perfect."

"You know, she's so perfect it's almost scary. Like she's...a doll or something, y'know?"

It was true though; she did seem like a perfect doll. Her hair was perfect platinum, straight and down to her waist. Her eyes deep sparkling indigo, her skin pale and unblemished...and she even had the air of perfection about her. Or at least some sort of aura.

Since she was alive centuries ago, posture was something every girl had then and so she still had perfect posture now. And she would always neatly fold her legs under her chair together and fold her hands in her lap...

She looked up as Tezuka stood from his desk next to her. "Tennis practice, right?" When he nodded, she smiled and put her book away, also standing.

As they stepped onto the courts, the Regulars turned and gave out muffled exclamations of surprise. Tezuka called them aside along with Sahya and said quietly "She's been given another chance at life. Her full name is Tsuriko Sahya."

They couldn't seem to be able to fix their jaws. Sahya simply smiled and bowed a bit. "It's nice to formally meet you. Please don't worry about introductions. I know your names already."

"Tsuriko, are you going to join the tennis club?" Oishi asked.

She shook her head. "I never got into any sport. But I found I love to watch." _Although where can I watch from now? It's different when you're floating as a ghost behind the Captain._

"The benches over there have good views of the courts." Tezuka suggested. "Why don't you sit there, Sahya?"

"Thanks. I'll do that." She said, moving over there.

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After practice, Tezuka changed and came out to see Sahya waiting for him. He resisted the urge to go over there and just wrap his arms around her. Something about her, it might have been how fragile she seemed or how much of a beautiful doll she really was, but he wanted to hold her. Instead, though, he contented himself with walking up and standing close to her.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" He asked.

"I'm afraid my parents in this life aren't much different than my last." She answered a bit sadly. "As long as I become their perfect child, they don't really care what I do or when I come home."

"Then would it bother you to still come to my home after school?" Tezuka asked. "The only difference would be meeting my grandparents."

"I'd like that, actually." Sahya said with a smile as she walked out the gates with him. He did the polite thing and took her school handbag for her.

The Regulars popped out of the bushes and grinned. "Wow, Buchou's such a gentleman!" Momoshiro commented to the others.

"Isn't that good though?" Oishi asked. "Being over 100 years old means that Tsuriko must be used to a different level of courtesy, right?"

"It's going to be a bit scary, seeing Buchou act like that..." Ryoma muttered.

"You'll get used to it." Fuji assured him. "Tezuka's not so bad once you get to know him. I think it'll be interesting to see how this works out."

Back at Tezuka's house, Sahya bowed gracefully to his grandparents when she was introduced. "It's nice to meet you." She said in the general greeting. "Thank you for the flowers you sent me while I was hospitalized."

"Oh, we're glad to see you're alright now!" His grandmother assured her. "I just baked a cherry pie this afternoon; I'll bring some up to Kunimitsu's room with some tea."

"Thank you." Tezuka and Sahya answered, before heading up the stairs.

Once in his room, Sahya looked around uncertainly. Before she just floated anywhere and sat in the air; now where was she supposed to sit? What would be considered an appropriate place?

"Instead of sitting at my desk, how about we both sit on the bed?" Tezuka asked. "That way you can still read without staying standing."

"Sounds like a plan." Sahya said with a smile as she and he sat on his bed. He took the book that he had been reading in his spare time out and flipped to the bookmarked page. As he set the book down on the bed and lay down to read it under the lamplight, Sahya lay down next to him to read over his shoulder.

Since his shoulders were broader than Sahya's and his body larger, Tezuka leaned more on his left side and draped his right arm over her shoulders to get more comfortable. Sahya kept one hand on the book and the other propped her head up.

A knock sounded at the door and his grandmother entered with a tray. She set it down and quietly left, knowing that whenever Tezuka got into a good book he hated interruptions. Smiling, she went back down to the kitchen. "Dear, would you believe that Kunimitsu is reading his book with that sweet girl?"

"He's _reading_ with her?" His grandfather asked, raising an eyebrow. "Now I know I did that as well when I was his age, but I hope he hasn't forgotten all of his manners when he has company, and a girl no less!" The reason Tezuka had such engraved manners and politeness was from his strict grandfather.

"Oh no, it seems she's enjoying it too. Do try not to tease him, though." His grandmother said sternly. Well, maybe a bit also came from his grandmother. But he mostly got a secret soft side and home skills from her. "You know that if you tease Kunimitsu he's going to shut her out. I've never seen him so comfortable with someone so soon!"

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"Oh, Sahya!" Her mom looked up as she entered the house. "Our family has been invited to a dinner gala with some old family acquaintances, although I'm not sure if you remember them. Of course we accepted. Now I want you to look your best. We want them to know that you're still the doll even though you were comatose for years."

"Of course." Sahya answered politely, but with little emotion. "I'll see what I have to wear. Excuse me." She went up to her room without another word to her 'parents'.

"_Of course"? Our Sahya's never been so well-mannered. She was more of a crude girl before; I guess the coma affected her a bit._ Her parents thought, exchanging looks that said 'it's different, but it's good'.

Sahya wouldn't start disobeying her parents now, but she wouldn't be lying if she said she didn't care much for them. But they took care of her and most of her needs, and were nice people in general.

It was just because she was a doll to them. But since Tezuka came along, she wasn't minding so much.


	8. She's back?

** Chapter 7: She's back...?**

"What? You mean _she's_ invited too?"

The indignant voice belonged to none other than Atobe Keigo.

"Yes." His mother said. "So do try and behave yourselves! I don't want this to end up like the last gala you and she came to."

"I hear that she's changed a bit since her coma." His father added. "Some people she doesn't even remember, so be nice to her. You might end up liking her."

_Not likely..._ He thought wryly, remembering the first time Tsuriko Sahya had come to a gala.

"_So you're Tsuriko Sahya? I am Atobe Keigo."_

"_Yeah yeah whatever. Just don't hit on me like the other guys."_

"_Excuse me? Atobe Keigo doesn't need to 'hit on' girls. Girls come to him."_

"_Oh, so you're full of ego. Great, not a single decent guy here!"_

"_Ego? At least I'm not full of a snappy attitude."_

"_Well then DEAL WITH my attitude, you fucking asshole!"_

"_WHAT did you just call me?! Of all the..."_

That incident, as well as all the other galas after that, was etched into his mind. It wasn't about to leave, not after so much of his reputation had been lost to her. He couldn't have people knowing that he, Atobe Keigo, lost his temper and would get into a shouting competition in public! Oh heaven forbid!

So you could see why he wasn't thrilled about the whole thing.

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"You're alright with just watching?" Tezuka asked, as he walked with Sahya to the benches.

"I'm sure." She answered, her hand resting in his lightly like it was a support as she sat down. If it made him awkward at all, he didn't show it. But it was remarkable how well-mannered he actually was; without realizing it he acted just like she was used to, escorting her around and such. After all, her family was slightly wealthy and times were slightly different in other centuries and countries.

"Even though I don't play any sports, I've loved watching others while they play." Sahya assured him, smiling warmly. "Enjoy your practice, Kunimitsu."

"Yeah." He stood and went out into the courts where the others were warming up.

Before she knew it, practice was over, and she looked up as Tezuka came up. "Ready to go?" She asked with a smile, as he helped her stand.

"Yeah." He answered, turning towards the exit with her.

"Buchou!!"

They looked up to see the Regulars calling. Hurrying over, they were met with the sight of an expensive black car with tinted windows and an elderly man dressed somewhat like a butler under his throw on vest.

"He's asking for Tsuriko." Fuji explained.

"Me?" Sahya asked, confused. She knew that her family had a car like that, but...she didn't know this man.

"Yes." The man answered with a bow. "Young Miss, I've been instructed to take you to the _Petite Colette _for your evening attire. Do you remember me, Regan, the butler?"

"Isn't that _Petite Colette _a really fancy chain store?!" Momoshiro exclaimed. "Where's she going?"

"A dinner gala, apparently." Sahya answered, before turning back to Regan. "I apologize; I don't remember you at all." Bowing slightly, she said with a smile "I am Sahya."

A brief look of surprise passed Regan's face. _Her smile is different than before. She never used to be so polite to me! _He gave a warm smile of his own under his moustache. "Don't worry about not remembering me. I have a feeling we'll get along better than before. I am your chauffeur and the family butler." He opened the door for her.

Sahya turned to Tezuka. "I'm sorry this came up so suddenly. But I'll see you tomorrow, I'm sure, as long as it doesn't last until three in the morning."

"It's fine. Enjoy the dinner gala." Tezuka said.

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Sahya entered the living room where her parents were waiting. "You look wonderful Sahya! And you wore that dress with no complaints at all!" Her mother praised.

_I'm used to wearing dresses. _Sahya thought, brushing the comment aside. She currently wore a navy blue dress that had a lace-up bodice with black ties over a light blue silk undershirt that peeked through. The sleeves went down to her elbows and then made way for black lace down to her wrists.

The skirt had a flare to it and a wide triangular slit up the front to show the light blue silk underskirts. The hem had black lace. It had only a few frills, but it still made her look beautiful despite the slightly older fashion. On her feet she had black heeled shoes, and on the sides of her head she had black rose hairclips. They held her hair in two buns on the side of her head, leaving some long strands to hang by her face.

"Did you put on any make-up?" Her dad asked. _She always went overboard with make up._

"No. I didn't feel the need to." She answered. "It's five thirty; we should leave so that we arrive at the designated time."

As they arrived in their car, Regan helped Sahya out of the car and closed the door behind her. They were in front of a huge mansion. "Now don't worry if you don't recognize someone, everyone has been informed that you might behave a little differently than before." Her mom assured her as they went inside the large gardens where tables were set up and servers walked about between small crowds. "But do be sure to tell Atobe Keigo you're here; you'll know him when you see him, he's got lavender hair and will most definitely be one of the centers of attention."

Sahya was separated from her parents rather quickly in the mingling throng, but didn't mind much. Some of the servers passed by her a bit nervously. _It's not like I'm going to steal the wine off their trays..._ She thought wryly, stepping quietly with her usual small steps.

She was quite the center of attention thanks to her looks. So it didn't take her very long to find the other center of attention, in the form of a young man around her apparent age, his hair a dark lavender -grey shade. He was dressed in a fine lavender shirt with a black vest overtop and black dress pants.

Atobe glanced over at what the crowd was staring at (other than him) and they parted obediently to let him see someone who was like a porcelain doll come to life. He did a double take once he realized who she was and nearly took a step back in surprise.

_Is that Tsuriko Sahya?! Her parents must have threatened to kill her to wear that dress!...Not that it doesn't look stunning on her but..._ He shook his head a bit to clear it as he realized she was approaching him. His slight frown turned immediately into a look of open-mouthed shock as she curtsied perfectly in front of him. Her. _Curtsy_. To _him_.

"Good evening. I am Sahya. Tsuriko Sahya." Her clear, pure voice said to him.

_Her voice wasn't pure before...And she'd rather eat frogs than curtsy and be polite to me...I guess they were right; she really doesn't remember people from before she was comatose._ Atobe thought. Reminding himself to close his mouth, he took her hand and bowed over it. "Atobe Keigo." He introduced.

The guests let out their held breaths as they realized that it wasn't going to become a war zone. As it grew darker, the garden lights came on. Dinner came and left as well as a few cocktails, even though some guests were underage, although that didn't stop Atobe and Sahya from taking a few.

Dancing started a bit later. Sahya raised a fine eyebrow as Atobe approached her. She recognized the current waltz and noticed that the third version of the dance was the one being done.

"Rosepetal Waltz, hm?" She asked.

"Rosepetal? Hardly anyone calls it that anymore." Atobe commented, offering a hand to her in a silent request to dance.

"Well, the second version was Rosebud. And then this is just Rose." She hesitated in taking his hand. "If you don't know how to do the Rosebud, I'd rather sit out. The second version of the dance has always been my favourite."

"You are talking to _Atobe Keigo_. Of course I know the Rosebud." He said indignantly, leading her out onto the dance floor.

"No offence meant, Atobe." She said, as they struck up the pose.

"Just don't step on my foot like you usually do." He muttered.

"Give me a bit more credit than that." Sahya said as she was twirled around. "I've done this dance for years."

"No you haven't." Atobe said, although her steps were graceful and not once out of place. "You hardly spent a month practicing because you preferred to be outside."

"No." She said firmly. Her indigo eyes gazed up at him without the hint of a lie in their clear depths. "It's been years."

He decided that arguing now wouldn't be in his best interest. She believed it had been years and she sure danced like it, so what did it matter? But she was back and going to Seigaku. That might be a little weird, knowing he could see her around town.

"Atobe, we've switched to an old Latin waltz. Do you know the first version of it?"

He snapped out of his thoughts to nod and start dancing to the new tune. The last thought he had before he devoted his concentration to remembering old dances was, _How does she know all of the old versions?_

_ **Author's Notes:**_

**So you know, I made up the dance. It just seemed to work. If there is a dance out there like the Rosepetal Waltz, sorry I didn't know.**


	9. Only him

** Chapter 8: Only him**

Tezuka gave a minute sigh as he looked at his racket and the empty court by his house. He had come here to practice, alone and in peace. But the clouds overhead weren't looking too promising for a clear, sunny day. More like a grey, rainy day...

"Kunimitsu? What's wrong?"

Tezuka looked back at the benches at Sahya, who was no longer embroidering. Her kit was closed and tucked away in its shoulder bag. Her hands were now folded neatly in her lap, on her long black skirt. Her white sandaled feet were tucked neatly under the bench, and her hair fell down her shoulders to rest along a turquoise shirt. "Nothing." He answered.

"It doesn't seem like it's going to rain quite yet, but I don't mind if you want to leave early." She told him.

"No, that's alright. I don't feel like leaving yet..." He said, even as a strong wind blew.

"Alright, then." Sahya pulled a ribbon from her pocket and started trying to braid her hair so the wind wouldn't tangle it and throw it in her face. She was going to settle with a braid over the shoulder, instead of down the back because that was too difficult, even though it would still get in her face.

But Tezuka sat down on the bench with her and his long fingers carefully brushed her strands of hair back. "I'll braid it. If you just put it over your shoulder it can still get in your way."

"Thank you."

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Blink. Blink. Eiji turned to Oishi who was crouched down beside him and whispered, "Hey Oishi, I'm not seeing things am I?"

Oishi slowly shook his head, as the other Regulars rubbed their eyes in disbelief. Tezuka was braiding a girl's hair. _And_ he had been hanging out with her when it was a weekend! Voluntarily hanging out with her, now that was something they had not expected to see when they came out here.

Let's back track a bit. The Regulars had all been bored and were going to go play a bit of street tennis before it rained. They had tried to phone Tezuka but his grandparents said he was out for the afternoon. But as they had passed one of the older and more hidden courts when going through a shortcut in the forest, they had heard someone playing tennis.

They had crouched down in the bushes and moved forward, to see Tezuka and Sahya there. And had arrived just in time to hear what they had said. And now they couldn't believe it.

Tezuka was even _french braiding_ a girl's hair. They wondered what would happen if he knew they were there watching. They'd have to run laps for sure, but at this rate it was worth it. Inui scribbled in his notebook like mad.

Sahya stiffened slightly as she looked out the corner of her eyes towards the forest. "Kunimitsu..." She murmured, moving to turn her head.

One hand holding the ends in place, Tezuka used the other to keep her head straight. "You'll mess up the braid." He berated gently. "I know. Ignore them; they'll run laps at school tomorrow." He tied a neat bow at the end of the braid. "There, it's done."

Standing, he moved back out onto the court. Sahya settled down to watch him, hoping the rain would hold off.

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The Regulars looked up as they felt some water droplets hit them. They hurried off to go find some shelter. Luckily down the road there was a bus stop. They all sat on the wood benches inside it. Good thing it was large.

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It started raining harder. Tezuka zipped up his tennis bag with everything in it and slung it over his shoulder in a hurry. Grabbing Sahya's hand as she grabbed her shoulder bag, he ran with her down the forest path towards the street. "There's a bus stop over there!" Sahya said, pointing through the pouring rain.

They both hurried under the shelter. Tezuka blinked at all the Regulars facing him. They had all chosen to take shelter in the same place. "...I won't even ask why you're all here too." He said. Moving to his bag and pulling out his towel, instead of wiping himself off he offered it to Sahya. They were both wet from the run.

"Thank you." Sahya said, taking the towel and gently wiping her brow. It was a good thing the water hadn't made it through her shoulder bag like it had her clothes, or the embroidery she was working so hard on would be ruined. "We're soaked..."

"Are you cold?" Tezuka asked, as he wiped himself off with the now-damp towel and then threw it into his bag. He mentally beat himself up over asking that. _Silly question. She's shivering! Why did today have to be a cool day? _"Does anyone have anything dry and warm?" He asked the Regulars.

They shook their heads. "None of us brought our jackets." Fuji explained. "We're not soaked, though, so we're not really cold."

Tezuka sighed, and at a loss of what to do, sat down on the bench in the corner. He tugged Sahya down to sit in his lap and wrapped his arms securely around her. She fit against him perfectly. Looking at the two, the Regulars couldn't help but think that their captain was acting...really weird. But they wisely kept quiet.

Sahya pulled out her cell phone and called Regan, telling him where she was and asking him to pick her up. "How about we go to my house to dry off?" She suggested to Tezuka. "Your bag is waterproof so you at least have a change of clothes."

"Only if you don't mind." Tezuka said.

"Of course I don't." She smiled. "I'm sorry that the car isn't big enough for the rest of you, though." She told the other Regulars.

"Ah, it's ok." Momoshiro assured her. "We'll all just take the bus home."

"That's how we got here in the first place anyways." Ryoma said, shrugging indifferently.

"I still feel bad about it, though..." She said uncertainly.

"You're soaked and a lot colder than us; you both need to get warm and dry." Oishi said, having some medical background thanks to his uncle. "It's more important for you two to get home."

Sahya nodded, and cuddled into Tezuka more. The stoic teen did nothing to stop her or show that he was uncomfortable. He only held her tighter.

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"Are your parents not home?" Tezuka asked as they stepped into the entrance hall. Regan had dropped them off and went immediately to fetch some robes.

"They're hardly ever home." She answered.

He remained silent, trying to find something else to say. He was always one to kill the conversation; but he didn't want to do that with Sahya. "It's alright." She told him. "You don't have to say anything."

When Regan returned they both went into the bathrooms and got out of their wet clothes and into the long warm robes. Tezuka's was navy blue, while Sahya's was white. "Regan will dry the clothes for you. Then we can drop you off at home."

"Thank you." Tezuka said, as he went with her to sit in the living room where a warm fire was burning in the fireplace. Regan came in with some tea, and they both relaxed. Since Sahya had come along, he had been able to do that a lot more easily. The edges of his mouth curved a bit in a small smile and he leaned back to get more comfortable. It was nice.

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"Ice cream, ice cream, yay!" Eiji cheered happily as the Regulars exited the school.

"It's been awhile since we did something all together." Oishi said, smiling. "It's even nicer now that we have someone else to join us." He added.

Sahya smiled. She was leading the way, a bit ahead of Tezuka, to a cute ice cream parlour she had seen. They stopped at an intersection and waited. "I haven't gone out with friends for a long time, too. This is nice."

The light changed. They started to step off the sidewalk onto the street when screeching tires sounded to the chorus of shouts. Someone screamed. Sahya looked up to see a speeding car abruptly turning.

"Sahya!!" A strong arm draped around her waist and another across her chest, hands on her shoulders and hips as she was pulled back almost immediately. Her back hit a warm, solid chest. Tezuka moved to jump back as well, but the car was coming too fast.

_Too fast...!_ Sahya realized, her indigo eyes widening. Without her realizing it, they were glowing blue.

Tezuka was lifted and pulled back instantly, and so was Sahya since he refused to let go of her. The car narrowly missed them, and spun out of control and crashed on its own. Taking a few more steps back on the sidewalk to regain his balance as well as Sahya's, Tezuka let out a shuddering sigh of relief. _Thank god she still has her telekinesis, even if what she did was subconscious._ _Otherwise, she..._

"Oh my god are they alright?!" People gathered around them in worry. The Regulars were the closest in the crowd around them. "Was she hit?!" "Someone call 911!"

"Tezuka, Tsuriko, are you both alright?!" Momoshiro and Oishi asked worriedly.

"I don't think Tezuka was hit, but was Tsuriko?" Kawamura asked.

_It's almost like some force pulled them back..._ Fuji thought in surprise, before worry clouded his thoughts.

Tezuka loosened his grip a little. _Was__ she hurt?_ "Sahya?" Tezuka asked in worry, releasing her from his grip and turning her by the shoulders to face him. His eyes narrowed in worry.

Her indigo eyes were wide and crystalline tears were falling, one by one. She was in a state of shock. _I-I almost died..._ "...again..."

"What...?" Tezuka asked, confused and even more worried now that he saw she was crying. He really wasn't good at dealing with crying girls. "Sahya, what's wrong?"

"I almost died...again..."

Seeing that she was in no control over herself, Tezuka pulled her close and rested her head against his chest. He let her use him to cry on, and made sure his grip around her back was firm. She had been without contact—without _life_—for so long, that she didn't know how to go to someone for comfort.

Looking up at the crowd around him, he said loudly "We're alright. Neither of us is hurt!"

Sighs of relief sounded through the crowd, especially from the Regulars. Then sirens were heard as the police came up. Fifteen minutes later Sahya's parents drove up. They tried to take her home after telling the police that yes, they were going to charge the driver.

"Your mother and father have come to take you home..." A policeman said hesitantly to Sahya. The girl seemed calm enough, like the boy, but she hadn't pulled away from his embrace and kept her face buried into his shirtfront.

"No..." Sahya tightened her grip on Tezuka's shirt.

"Sahya, come on doll..." Her mother urged gently.

"Kunimitsu..."

They tried unsuccessfully to get her to come with them. Even the Regulars tried talking to her. She let go of Tezuka, but made no move to leave with anyone. Fuji shook his head at the others, saying quietly "It's no good."

Sahya stood there solemnly, a lost look in her eyes, but no more tears coming down her face. "I don't get it." Her mother said hopelessly. "It's like she doesn't really know anyone here but him!"

Tezuka took her hand gently. "...Sahya. Let's go to your house."

Her fingers slowly curled around his, and she gave a small nod. "...Ok..." She said in a very quiet voice.

It was true, though. She only _really_ knew Tezuka. He ended up staying the night with her, because he knew that. He knew _her_. Dying was a horrible thing, let alone having to go through it almost _twice_.

She might never get over the experience of death—of being a ghost—alone. But if he could help her...then he would. He was quite possibly the only one.


	10. Hobby of mine

** Chapter 9: Hobby of mine**

"Sahya? It's a bit cool today. What are you doing out here?" Tezuka asked, coming up to her. "If you're going to watch us practice, you should bring a sweater..."

Sahya brought her gaze away from the object of her sight and looked back at Tezuka as he draped his Regulars jacket around her. "Oh...thank you." She said, smiling. "I was just gazing at the cherryblossoms..."

"Do they remind you of something?" Tezuka asked.

"...Nothing much," Sahya said, "But they're quite beautiful."

"They remind me of the first tournament I went in." Tezuka shared with her. "They were in bloom, just like this, when we won."

"You're going to be in another tournament soon, right? I wonder if this is a good sign then." Sahya said, laughing lightly.

Tezuka smiled, pleased that he could encourage a laugh from her. It was then he noticed she was holding something in the hand furthest from him. "What do you have there? It's not your embroidery kit."

Sahya smiled and held up the small black case. "No, this is my flute." Opening the case, she assembled it quickly and looked up at Tezuka from the bench. "Would you like to hear it?"

Nodding, Tezuka draped his towel over his shoulders and sat down next to her. She didn't seem to mind that he hadn't even changed from his practice uniform yet. Bringing the flute to her lips, she pursed her lips and blew.

He was surprised at the sound that came out. Normally, he disliked flutes. He was just going to humour her. But instead of being airy and cold on the ears, the notes were warm and soothing. His head drooped down a little as he relaxed and enjoyed it.

The Regulars came out of the changerooms, glanced into the courts, and slowly moved away towards the gates. Once safely out of hearing distance but still able to hear the flute, they sighed.

"Wow, it's so pretty!" Eiji said, his normal tone of excitement mellowed down.

"Mm…" Fuji agreed. He looked at the gates and said in slight surprise "Oh? It's…Regan, I believe."

"Tsuriko's butler?" Eiji and Ryoma asked.

"Yes, that's me." Regan bowed a bit. "Do you know who's playing that wonderful flute? I've been with the family to many concerts, but never have I heard such fine playing."

"That's Tsuriko of course!" Momoshiro said, surprised that her butler didn't know.

"The Young Miss has never taken music lessons in her life!" Regan exclaimed. "She was in piano for a short time, but quit almost immediately. She hardly learned her scales, let alone-"

"Oh, Regan? What is it, am I needed for something again tonight?" Sahya asked coming up, flute case in hand.

Regan immediately stopped the previous topic of conversation and said pleasantly "Oh, well you see Young Miss, it seems that your parents feel you would love to learn the piano…"

_Learn…piano?_ Sahya thought. _…Again?_ "I see. Then I presume you're to drive me to my instructor's house?"

"Yes, Young Miss." Regan said nervously. _Please, please tell me that coma made her more accepting of these things…!_

"Very well."

Regan sighed in relief.

"However…"

He caught his breath.

"I've already made plans for the first half hour…even up to an hour after school." Sahya said, tilting her head slightly.

"W-Well, we have an hour and fifteen minutes…" Regan said uncertainly. "What is it you were planning…?"

"Ice cream with the team." Sahya explained. "It was going to be my treat, since it's because of me and that car accident that we couldn't go before."

"Yeah, we haven't all gone out for ice cream for a loooong time!!" Eiji said, pumping his fists into the air.

Smiling, Sahya turned back to Regan. "We'll make it to lessons on time." She assured him.

"It's not so much arriving on time, it's that your parents wished you to become more acquainted with your tutor." Regan explained. "You never were before, so…" He trailed off.

"Never…?" _So my reincarnation wasn't friendly towards this person?_ Sahya closed her eyes and shook her head. "No matter. I'm not cancelling my plans for something my parents neglected to tell me."

"But Young Miss…"

"Trust me on this, Regan." Sahya said. "So, shall we go?" She asked, smiling brightly.

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"Uh, there aren't enough seats at the tables for all of us…" Kawamura realized.

"Well, one of us can share a seat with someone else." Oishi suggested. "Who are the smallest?"

As if he had to ask, Ryoma and Sahya were obviously the smallest out of the group. Tezuka started to get up from his seat, but Sahya hurriedly said "That's alright, I'll just stand." She put a hand on Tezuka's shoulder when he still tried to offer his chair to her. "Really, you've done so much for me I'm feeling very bad about not returning the favours..."

"I never did anything expecting favours." He answered. The problem was settled when another smaller group finished their ice cream and left, giving them some chairs.

"Wow, this is great! I mean, I didn't think you'd put taking us out for ice cream over lessons!" Momoshiro exclaimed, licking his dripping rolo ice cream.

"I've always put my friends as top priorities." Sahya said with a smile, as she ate her strawberry ice cream from a small cup with a spoon.

"So are you coming to watch the tournament this weekend?" Oishi asked.

"I'm going to try. There's an orchestra concert my parents are taking me to." Sahya said sadly.

"Hm..." Inui opened his notebook as he threw away his napkin and pulled out a pen to start scribbling.

"Did you forget to add something to your calculations?" Fuji asked.

"Maybe. I'm trying to prove something." Inui answered with a smirk, his glasses glinting.

"By the way, Regan, what's my instructor's name?" Sahya asked, once everyone was done their ice cream and just hanging out for a few more minutes.

"I believe you've met him at the gala already, Young Miss. Atobe Keigo."

"Atobe?!" The others exclaimed.

"...That's odd." Sahya commented quietly. Only Tezuka caught it. A little louder, Sahya said "If I recall correctly, Kunimitsu, your house is along the way to Atobe's. Would you like a drive home?"

"Only if you're certain it's not a bother." He answered politely. Although the answer he would have given would be yes.

Sahya smiled. "I thought you'd say that. No, it's never a bother to me." She stood and Regan hurried to get the car door for her and Tezuka before climbing into the driver's seat and driving away.

The Regulars stared after the car.

"Hey..." It was Eiji who spoke. "Buchou did just get called K...K..."

"By his first name?" Fuji supplied for the stuttering Eiji. It was like he couldn't even say Tezuka's first name because it was never used by anyone but Tezuka's grandparents. "Yes, but he's called Tsuriko by her first name too." He pointed out.

"Does that mean...they're...y'know..." Momoshiro made a small gesture as he tried to explain what he was asking without words.

"Probably." The others answered.

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"Well, good luck with Atobe. He can be a little hard to handle sometimes." Tezuka said to Sahya. "But I'm sure he's quite an adequate teacher, although perhaps a little strict."

"Thanks for worrying." Sahya said, laughing lightly. "I'll try and see you tomorrow at the tournament."

"Yeah. See you then." He gave her hand a light squeeze and exited the car.

"Drive." Sahya directed Regan, who started the car again. Soon they were outside Atobe's mansion, at exactly fifteen minutes past the hour. The door was opened by a butler and Sahya was admitted immediately. She hadn't bothered changing out of her school uniform, but figured it'd be ok.

"Ah, Tsuriko. Right on time." Atobe said, coming in.

"Good. Thank you for taking the time to teach me." Sahya said politely, bowing a bit. She then followed him to a large room with a grand piano and comfortable plush furnishings. She sat on the piano bench when he gestured to it.

"We'll start with basic scales. I have to see how much you actually know." Atobe said briskly. He then started naming various scales. His eyebrow rose when she played them all perfectly. "...Good. Enough on the piano for now, let's see how far you are in music theory."

When she had demonstrated the knowledge of Grade 1 piano, he gave her a long look. "...Your parents said that you quit piano lessons earlier than this."

Sahya folded her hands in front of her neatly and smiled sweetly. "I have little recognition of what happened in this life before my coma."

"Hm..." Atobe seemed to accept that as his answer when he shrugged. "Well everyone's much happier about that. Let's just skip some piano grades until we find the one you're at, and test playing ability later."

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Some chimes rang overhead. Atobe and Sahya gazed up to see the clock read six thirty. "Time passed quickly." Atobe remarked. He looked down at the books laid out on the table. "And we've only got two more piano grades left. I suppose we'll be able to finish tomorrow, after we return from the concert."

"...We?" Sahya asked cautiously.

"Yes, _we_." He answered, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you know that you're coming with my family?"

Sahya frowned slightly. "My parents neglected to inform me of that. I was under the impression that I was going with them." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter though."

"Well then, I shall see you tomorrow morning. I'll come pick you up at 8 and then we'll have lunch and return here at 1 to finish piano lessons. I don't feel we need anything more than an hour and a half." Atobe said in finality.

As she was leaving and entering her waiting car, Sahya wasn't thinking about the concert or her lessons. She was worried about something else.

_Will I still be able to make it to the tournament tomorrow if I leave at 2:30...?_


	11. Got to make it

** Chapter 10: Got to make it**

"Sahya, we got you a new dress for the concert!" Her mother held up said item in front of her.

Sahya gazed at it casually. She was just about to go into the shower, but if her mother actually woke up early on a weekend to show her this then she'd humour her. And she was quite good at evaluating the quality of a dress.

This one was definitely nice. It was a deep red wine in colour and the skirt had multiple layers of frills. It had a black corset with a white rose in the top center. The dress had a wide neckline showing some of her shoulders and then sleeves that came down to her elbow before layered frills that flared out at the end. It wasn't overly bulky with the frills, though. They'd lay flat enough and were just for decoration.

And then her mother held up some nice black strap heels for her to see. They each had a miniature white rose. "It's very nice mother. I'll be sure to wear it." Sahya said.

"Wonderful! I'm sure the Atobes will love it!"

_I knew this whole thing was odd. Piano lessons and a concert? It's more like a set up..._ Sahya let the thought trail off as she entered the shower and then got ready to go to the concert. Normally concerts were in the evenings, but not this one. Apparently the concert hall was booked later, so it had to be moved earlier.

As she dressed and gazed at herself in the full mirror, Sahya gazed at her hair. Deciding she might as well, she put it into ringlets. Then she went downstairs. And just on time, the doorbell rang and there at the front stood the chauffeur.

Atobe's eyes widened as he saw her coming towards the car. He hadn't actually left the car to pick her up; that was the chauffeur's job. So he could stare and not have to worry about hiding his surprise. Ok, so it was a wealthy persons' concert and he had obviously dressed well for it. So had she. But when she dressed nice...it was _stunning_. The style was that of an old money family from England centuries ago, but it suited her perfectly.

_But she's such a different person than the Tsuriko Sahya I knew. It gives me..._ Sahya stepped into the car. Folding her hands neatly into her lap and sitting perfectly straight, she looked just like a doll that just happened to turn her head and offer a bare smile. _It gives me a weird feeling. Like this is someone else._ He thought, as the car started moving. They'd be meeting his parents at the concert hall.

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"Alright, is everyone here?" Ryuzaki asked. She looked around at the Regulars. "Good. Well then, let's-"

"Wait!" Eiji exclaimed. "Tsuriko isn't here!"

"The girl who watches the tennis practice from the benches?" Ryuzaki asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is she that important to you?"

"She has a concert to go to." Tezuka said to Eiji. "She'll be here later."

"Oh...ok..."

_Hm...it's like he's saying that more to himself than Eiji._ Fuji thought.

"Ok, so let's understand one thing." Ryuzaki said seriously. "This is a smaller tournament, and the only school you'd be familiar with here is Rikkaidai. Hyoutei, Jyousei Shounan, all those schools aren't here today. But still, there are some good teams. So don't get cocky!"

"Hai, sensei!!"

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"We have reservations at a good restaurant for noon." Atobe said. "And then we'll head back to my house. My parents won't be joining us, they have business this afternoon."

Sahya nodded, remaining silent. _I hope Kunimitsu's doing alright..._

"By the way..." Atobe said casually as they entered the restaurant and sat down, "aren't you finding everything a bit strange?"

"How so?" Sahya asked.

"You and I never got along before. Now that we are, our parents seem to be having us spend more and more time together." Atobe explained as they waited for their food. "It's not that I don't like doing these things, because if I didn't I wouldn't, but it feels like I'm with a complete stranger. As I'm sure it must feel this way for you, too, not remembering anyone..."

"It _is_ odd." Sahya agreed. "I haven't questioned my parents much, but I do feel that we should speak with them about this. Obviously things aren't working out quite as planned."

"Yes, well, we'll do so later."

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"Alright, good job on winning your matches so far! We've got an hour lunch break. Meet me back here at one o'clock sharp so that we can be ready for our next match, possibly our last two matches if we win the tournament." Ryuzaki said, gazing at her watch.

"Hai!" Tezuka replied with the others. He went off with Fuji and Oishi to get some food. _She's still not here yet..._

"Maybe she stopped on her way here for lunch." Fuji suggested, accurately reading the buchou's mind.

"Yeah." He agreed. Even though the concert should've ended a half hour ago.

"By the way, Tezuka..." Oishi said, as they sat down to eat, "what's your relationship, anyways? I've seen you both together a lot."

Tezuka stiffened a bit. _What __was__ their relation?_

"You do show a lot of concern over her." Fuji said, interested as well in the answer.

"...We never discussed any sort of relationship." He said finally. It wasn't the answer he was sure they wanted, but it was the one he had. "I do enjoy my time with her, though."

"Really? What do you do?" Oishi asked. "It doesn't seem like you both had a lot of things in common..." Blinking as he realized what he said, he hastily added "Well, I mean, you both seem similar but she seems to enjoy things like embroidery and music..."

"She doesn't mind tennis, but she doesn't play any sport. So there's very little similarity there. Or none at all..." Tezuka said, in slow realization. "But we read...we hang out at the park...I sometimes do my own thing and she does hers, like embroidery." It wasn't as if they didn't have something to do with each other; on the contrary, they got along extraordinarily well. It was just strange, now that he thought about it. They seemed so different from each other.

Fuji smiled. Tezuka might not be sure of their relationship, and neither was Inui although he suspected Inui had a theory about it written down somewhere, but he was almost certain. Maybe he would just...help things along a bit. "Well, I hope she makes it here today." _I'll step in a little later._

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"Well, we're done with theory, now let's see what you can play. What's your favourite piece?" Atobe asked.

"I like Regeneration, by Yukiru Sonada." Sahya said, sitting down at the piano.

Atobe, who surprisingly had that in his large collection, pulled it out. As she played—with perfect posture, he noted—it struck him. This piece was deemed awhile back one of the most difficult pieces in history. Even he had taken years to learn it. And she most definitely hadn't had years to learn it. How in the world did she know these things?

Sahya finished the piece elegantly, only to have him set down a lot more songs. "Despite being able to play that," Atobe explained stiffly, "I need to see how well you do at other songs."

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Oishi-Eiji, 5-7. Kaidoh-Inui, 4-6. Fuji, 6-3. Ryoma, 6-4. Tezuka...

"This is it. I guess we kind of expected the match to come down between the two Captains..." Oishi said nervously. _If Tezuka wins against Yukimura, we win the tournament._

Tezuka threw the ball up. _She isn't here yet..._ That was his last thought before he reserved everything he had for concentration on the match.

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"Atobe, was this all?" Sahya asked, getting impatient despite how she was brought up with self-control.

"Yes, I don't believe you need lessons at all. Go on to your own devices." He said in dismissal.

_Finally!_ Sahya hurried out of the mansion and to her waiting car. "Regan, we have to hurry to the courts!" She said anxiously.

"Understood, Young Miss." Regan said, starting the car quickly. _Her parents told me to come up with a reason for her to stay longer at the Atobes, but she's been kind to me since the accident. I'm going to serve her well, since she now treats me well._

Sahya bit her bottom lip as she looked at the clock. "Two thirty...if they won their match they'll be in the finals..." _If that's the case, I have to make sure I catch a bit of it at least! Kunimitsu would have the last match, so maybe..._

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Tezuka sighed as he sat down to take a drink of water. As expected, Yukimura was posing quite a challenge. The game was tight at a tie of 5-5.

The Regulars were tense as they watched their captain. "...Hey..." Momoshiro whispered, "where's Tsuriko?"

"I don't know, but I hope she hurries up..." Oishi said worriedly.

"It's not like Buchou's losing focus over her..." Ryoma muttered.

Eiji leaned on the freshman's head with a great sigh. "But it would be so much nicer for Tezuka if she was here! Gees, O'chibi, you have a girlfriend, you should know that!"

"That hurts..."

"Echizen has a girlfriend? Since when did that happen?!" Momoshiro exclaimed lowly, not wanting to yell so that he wouldn't distract Tezuka.

"Fssssh, shut up, they're starting again." Kaidoh hissed.

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Regan looked back with a regretful sigh as he turned the radio off. "I'm sorry, Young Miss, but it seems that the traffic jam lasts for quite a ways thanks to a large accident. We won't make it at this rate..."

Sahya's indigo eyes were pools of what was close to panic. _I won't be able to make it...?!_ She moved to the door and put her hand on the handle.

"Young Miss, where are you going?!"

"I'll just have to go the rest of the ways by foot!" Sahya shot Regan a pleading and anxious look. "Regan, I just _have_ to go! I promised Kunimitsu! Please just meet me at the courts, I'm sorry!"

Pushing the door open, she stepped out and stood on the pavement in her black heels and her red dress. There hadn't been time to change out of it. Hurrying to the sidewalk, she was very glad that the dress went down to just above her ankles and wasn't constricting.

Ignoring the odd stares she got, she ran in her heels towards the courts. She ignored the looks, the burn in her legs, the ache in her feet from running in heels, and focused solely on where she was going.

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Tezuka prepared to receive Yukimura's serve. All Yukimura needed was one more point to win the tie-break; but he wouldn't let that happen. He _couldn't_ let it happen. Unfortunately, their exchanges were turning more and more to Yukimura's favour.

Yukimura was panting just as much as Tezuka as he aimed a shot at the corner. _This point's mine! He won't make that!_

"15-15!"

"He made it..." Yukimura murmured in surprise, gazing at the spot where the speed ball had passed right by him, scoring a point for Tezuka.

Tezuka inhaled and exhaled deeply. He could feel it; he wasn't unsettlingly empty anymore. _Now to truly play without regrets._

From where she stood, a hand propped against a tree to help her stay upright while catching her breath, Sahya gazed down at the in-ground courts. _I made it...thank goodness..._

Inui immediately flipped out his notebook and started writing. Fuji frowned lightly. "Tezuka seems different now. Like he's...not missing something."

"Ah, it's Tsuriko!" Kawamura pointed to the adjacent side of the court to them. "I can barely see her past the tree there, in the forest!"

Sahya watched as Tezuka gradually took back the flow of the match. When the ref gave the final call, she sank down to her knees in relief.

"Game, Seigaku's Tezuka, 7-5!"

Loud cheers erupted. The Regulars crowded around Tezuka in ecstasy. Inui finished scribbling and snapped his notebook shut. "Theory 236 of Tezuka: increase in ability and probability of victory 5 with Tsuriko present, success."

"So _that's_ what you've been thinking about!" Eiji exclaimed.

The teams shook hands. Tezuka ignored the raised look of questioning Yukimura gave him regarding the sudden comeback. As soon as formalities were over he grabbed his bag and asked "Where did you see Sahya?"

"Over there." Ryoma gestured.

Tezuka strode off, and the others followed quickly after. They soon saw deep red amongst the green and Tezuka hurried over. "Sahya?" His eyes widened in surprise as he noticed that her face was slightly flushed and her breathing heavier than normal. He kneeled down next to her. "I'm glad you made it."

"I am too." She said, smiling.

"What made you so late?" Momoshiro asked.

"After the concert I had to go out for lunch with Atobe, and then finish piano lessons. They lasted until two thirty, and then at quarter to Regan and I ran into a huge back-up because of an accident." Sahya explained.

"You were with Atobe all day?" Eiji asked incredulously.

"By my parents' choice. I don't intend on spending a great amount of time with him now that I realize what they're trying to do." Sahya said in honest defence. "We talked about it and decided we'd inform our parents that we did not enjoy being set up with each other."

_Good._ Tezuka thought. Then he rethought that. _Good...? Why did I..._

"Wait, judging by how far the Atobe mansion is and traffic, how'd you get here at three?" Inui asked.

"I went on foot." She told them.

"You..._ran_...to get here?" Fuji asked. She nodded. _Hm...so it's obvious what she feels about Tezuka. ...Hm?_ He frowned.

Tezuka helped Sahya up. But as soon as she was standing on her feet her knees buckled and he had to catch her as she fell into him. "Sahya?!"

"You hurt yourself, didn't you?" Fuji asked. His sharp eyes missed nothing, and currently they were on her feet. "Running here in heels like that, I hope you didn't sprain your ankle..."

"I don't think I did..." Sahya said, as Tezuka lowered her to the ground again. She took off her heels and he held her foot carefully to examine it.

Fuji also took a look. "...It looks like you have a few blisters forming. But it doesn't look like anything's sprained or broken."

"Just stay off your feet for the rest of the day." Oishi advised.

"I'll at least walk to a bench." Sahya said strongly, putting her heels back on. She walked perfectly fine the second time since she was ready for the stinging in her feet. Once they reached the area with the changerooms, she sat down on a bench with a soft sigh of relief.

"We'll be about 10 minutes." The Regulars said, as they hurried inside the boys' change rooms.

Not long after they went in, Rikkaidai came out. It wasn't hard to spot her; she sort of stood out a little. Curious, Yukimura went over, causing his team to follow. _I know I saw her with Tezuka and Seigaku..._ "Excuse me, weren't you with Seigaku?"

Startlingly clear indigo eyes rose to meet him. "...Yes. I am Tsuriko Sahya. And you are all from Rikkaidai, correct?"

"Yes." Yukimura bowed and introduced all the Regulars to her.

Sahya smiled friendlily. "Please excuse me for remaining seated. I hurt my feet coming here."

"Dressed like that, I'm not surprised." Kirihara remarked. "What are you, some Lolita type?"

"Where do you learn these words...?" Sanada murmured, rolling his eyes at Kirihara's manners—or lack thereof.

"Actually, I came from an orchestral concert and didn't have time to change if I wanted to make it here." Sahya admitted. "Although I'm not uncomfortable in such clothes. My driver ran into traffic so I was forced to run the rest of the way here."

"You ran to see a tennis tournament?" Renji asked in surprise.

"That's pretty hardcore." Marui commented, blowing a bubble with his gum and popping it. "Why'd you do it?"

Yukimura noted that Sahya's smile became a little warmer and her eyes seemed to sparkle. "...I made a promise to come here. And I just really wanted to see. Besides, I was expected."

It was then the Seigaku Regulars came out. Rikkaidai made room for Tezuka to step through and carefully pick up Sahya, one arm going under her knees and being mindful of her skirt while the other supported her back. "Thank you." She told him. Looking over at Rikkaidai, she smiled and tilted her head in a gesture of farewell.

Tezuka nodded to Yukimura and then started walking away with Seigaku. Sending Sahya a small smile, he tilted his head down and murmured into her hair, "You're welcome. But still, I'm...very glad that you came."

Marui wasn't the only one who caught that change in Tezuka's usual behaviour. He grinned. "She made a promise, was expected, and just really wanted to see, huh? I think she should've added 'Tezuka' to that."

"Definitely." Kirihara agreed.


	12. The festival preparations

** Chapter 11: The festival preparations**

"What do you mean you don't want to spend more time with the Atobes?!"

Sahya sighed at her mother's exclamation. "Mother, I didn't say that we should spend no time with them. I'm just stating that it's useless to try and get me to spend as much time as possible with their son because nothing is going to change between us. We're friends, acquaintances, nothing more."

"But _why_, Sahya? Their family is so well-known, you'd be provided for, he's a gentleman, elegant, refined..." Her mother seemed totally baffled as to why a chance to get a better relationship with Atobe Keigo was rejected.

"I already explained that. Besides, he isn't the only gentleman out in the world and family name isn't everything." Sahya said, standing from the kitchen table.

"Dear, you should just let her be. She's right, it's not just about money and material things." Her dad spoke up from the newspaper.

"But...but...!"

"Thank you father. Excuse me, I have to go to school early today." Leaving the kitchen, Sahya went to the front hallway. Slipping on her shoes, Regan took her bag from her. Noticing her about to pick up another larger bag, he took that too and led her to the waiting car.

"An argument, Young Miss?" He asked.

"Not a large one. I'll give her time to organize her thoughts and think it over." Sahya said wisely, stepping into the car.

Regan hopped into the driver's seat. "That's very wise of you, Young Miss." _As if I don't remember all the yelling arguments she and her mother used to have..._ "...You didn't yell at all." He suddenly realized.

"That wouldn't accomplish anything."

Since when _had_ the Young Miss gotten so much wiser...? Did someone really learn that much while comatose? Regan shook his head, baffled, but smartly just started driving.

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Once at school Sahya took both her bags and waved to Regan, who drove off. Going to the courts, she saw morning practice already underway. Stepping up to Ryuzaki, she smiled and greeted "Sensei."

"Hm?" Ryuzaki looked to the side to see her, and her face broke out into a smile. "Oh, Tsuriko! Come to tell me you want to join the tennis team?"

"Actually..." Sahya smiled and passed her the large bag, murmuring something very quietly.

Ryuzaki grinned. "Of course, I'm sure they'll love it! We have just the place to put it here, too."

"Thank you." Bowing, Tsuriko went to sit on the benches as Ryuzaki went to hide the large bag in the club meeting room.

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"A fun fair?" Sahya asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It's an annual event that we have here at Seigaku." Tezuka explained as they walked to their class. "Class 3-C always combines with Class 3-B to form a fashion show, pulling in students from all classes when it comes to participants. I believe Class 1-A also helps out. Class 3-A, our class, changes it according to student votes. Same with most classes."

"I see..." Sahya smiled. "It's going to be interesting." She heard hurried footsteps and was suddenly pushed to the side. Her bag clattered to the floor. "Ah!" Closing her eyes and bracing herself, she felt herself falling and then...not falling. Looking up, she saw that Tezuka had caught her.

"Thanks..." She said, blushing a bit as they now had students staring at them in surprise. The boy who had been in a huge hurry stopped, turned back and gave a quick jumbled apology. She managed to pick out 'sorry' and 'late' and 'meeting' before he scrambled off again. _Must have been for the festival. If this is any indication, things are going to get pretty busy._

Tezuka picked up her bag and closed it, then passed it to her. "All our classes are spent on the festival, so we'll be taking a break from studies."

They took their seats in class, Sahya beside Tezuka as usual.

"Alright class," the teacher said, "let's start brainstorming ideas for the fair!"

While other people started grouping around to discuss ideas, some girls tried to include Tezuka into their conversations. Tezuka's monosyllable replies, however, quickly shut them down as they did so many other people.

"Doesn't everyone have to participate?" Sahya asked.

"Yes, but I'm always given the task of the manager anyways. They come up with the ideas, and I manage it from there..." He said, pulling out a book. "You can help if you want."

"Alright. You must have a lot of duties anyways, being the captain of the tennis team." Sahya said, smiling. Pulling her chair closer to his, she leaned against his arm to read as well.

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Come lunch time the class theme was decided to be one of the many food stalls. Sahya ate her lunch quickly with Tezuka and then they both stood and left the classroom. The Regulars were holding a meeting at lunch. Going to the club meeting room, Tezuka opened the door for Sahya and then followed.

All the Regulars were already there, including coach Ryuzaki. "So now that we're all here, what was the meeting about?" Eiji asked.

"Yeah, it's funfair week which means we have almost no practices." Momoshiro added. "Why do we need a meeting?"

"Well, firstly," Ryuzaki answered, "no practices means you all have to be responsible and keep yourselves in top form for tennis. And secondly, there's something that was given to you all for winning the tournament."

"But we already got the trophy and medals..." Ryoma said, confused as to what else they'd get.

"Yes, well..." Ryuzaki beamed at Sahya. "Tsuriko made something for you all. I'm planning on hanging it in the changeroom. Sort of like the team's legacy or something. It'll be seen there more often than in the trophy cabinet of the school anyways." She pulled out the large bag from behind the desk and gave it to Tezuka.

Pulling the large item out of the bag, Tezuka carefully peeled away the protective wrapping. His eyes widened in amazement. "Sahya...you did this...?"

Blushing, Sahya looked away demurely and nodded.

The others crowded around to see. Even Ryuzaki did, for she hadn't seen it either. They gasped. "Hey, that's us!" Momoshiro exclaimed.

"The whole team..." Kawamura added.

"Amazing..." Oishi murmured.

Staring back at them all was a large work of embroidery three feet long and two feet high. It had the whole team there in their Regular outfits, Coach Ryuzaki on the side. It was remarkably detailed, depicting each member's individual personality. A nice wood frame was around it, along with a sheet of glass to protect it.

"That's incredible...thank you Tsuriko..." Fuji said in awe, cerulean eyes wide.

"You're welcome." Sahya said, smiling happily.

Tezuka dutifully handed it back to Ryuzaki so she could put it up later. Turning to Sahya, eyes shining with pride, awe, happiness, and a few other emotions thrown into the bunch, he smiled. "Thank you." He said warmly.

Sahya's smile became that much warmer.

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"Fuji, your class is doing the fashion show, right?" Sahya asked. She and Tezuka had met him and Eiji during preparations, where many students were free to wander the halls with so much to do.

"Yes, most of the girls have already been chosen, too." Fuji said, smiling. "The class just has to make the outfits and get a stage decorated now."

"The designs are all ready nya!" Eiji said cheerfully. "We just ordered the fabric and stuff, so they'll arrive at their own times! What's your class doing?"

"A bake sale." Tezuka said. "Sahya and I have to manage it, but we won't have to be there on the actual day."

"We're more like the schedule planners." Sahya said, smiling.

"Good luck with that." Fuji said. "Oishi's going to be our planner."

"Good luck to you too." Sahya said.

When the afternoon was over and Tezuka and Sahya left school, they went to Tezuka's house. As usual his grandparents greeted her warmly, and it seemed Tezuka's grandmother always had something baked. She brought miniature cinnamon buns to the room and some milk.

Sitting down at his desk, Sahya took out a pen and started helping him come up with a schedule for their class. "Well what if we spend a day on this, and then that leaves..."

They worked it out for the better period of an hour. Then they sat back and relaxed, finally looking at the little cinnamon rolls. Taking one, Tezuka offered it to Sahya.

"Mm..." Sahya smiled after she chewed and swallowed it, but her content look turned into one of confusion as her cellphone rang. Pulling it out, she flipped it open. "Hello?...Yes...Yes...I understand..." She hung up, and seeing Tezuka's questioning look, she smiled ruefully. "My mother. She said that they're not going to be home for awhile..."

"...Again?" Tezuka finished. "Why not stay here for dinner then?" He offered.

"Thank you." Sahya said, looking down. "I've been staying here a lot lately. I'm sorry for being such a-"

"Don't."

She looked up at him in confusion.

Tezuka pet her head lightly. "You're never a bother, don't even think that you are. Let's go and help my grandmother make dinner."

Gratefully, Sahya followed him.

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"Ahhhh, we've got problems, BIG problems nyaaaa!" Eiji groaned, flopping down at the table where the Regulars were all eating lunch together.

"What sort of problems?" Sahya asked worriedly. "There are only two days left before the fair."

"That's the thing..." Oishi said, sighing.

"Something messed up..." Kawamura was in the same flunk as they were.

"Will you tell us what already?" Momoshiro asked. "The junior classes aren't helping the fashion show!"

"Someone messed up the orders badly." Ryoma explained, looking annoyed as he took a sip of his ponta.


	13. Solution

** Chapter 12: Solution**

"_Someone messed up the orders badly." Ryoma explained, looking annoyed as he took a sip of his ponta._

"It couldn't be helped..." Fuji said. "Not only did the fabric orders for the dresses come in late, so we're pushed for time in making them, but they gave us a wrong colour."

"What? How do you mess that up?" Momoshiro asked, frowning.

"Beats me." Eiji said, shrugging. "You know how each girl gets a different colour that her dress is? Instead of purple, we got green! _Green_, nya!"

"What's wrong with green, fssh?" Kaidoh muttered. His favourite bandana was a shade of green.

"Nothing's wrong with green, it's that the girl won't wear it." Oishi explained. "She doesn't believe she can win, dressing in green."

"So what did you do?" Tezuka asked.

"I told them that I'll make the dress, but we have to find a model for it still." Fuji said.

"It'll be hard to find someone willing to model so soon." Inui commented. "Although I might be able to give you a school directory list of names..."

Fuji's eyes, had they been open, would've had a gleam to them. _Sorry Inui, but I've already got everything planned out. Oh I'm going to outdo myself with this dress. _Making his tone casual, he said just to the group in general "You know, with the shade of green...it might look nice on Tsuriko."

"...Yeah." The others agreed, after looking at her for a moment.

Sahya slowly moved her eyes around the group to finally rest their clear indigo depths on Fuji. "So...would you like me as your model?"

"If you're offering, that would be wonderful." Fuji said, a wide smile on his face. "How about coming to our classroom so we can get the measurements taken, and then I'll make the dress today and tomorrow? You probably won't be able to see it beforehand though."

"That's fine." Sahya brushed a silky lock of platinum hair behind her ear. "I will trust you, Fuji."

"Can you really make a dress Fuji?" Eiji asked. "You didn't make any of the others."

"Yes." Fuji smirked.

_That's either good or bad._ Tezuka thought, rubbing the bridge of his nose. _It could mean he can make a dress and will show the other dressmakers up, or he's not good at it and is planning something... _ He glanced up at Fuji's smirk that still hadn't vanished.

_...Scratch that. Either one it ends up being, he's always got a plan plus a few back ups.._

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Sahya entered her large home. Regan was there as usual for her, but he was quite busy with the few staff they had there. They had a team of 3 people who kept the home together, so they were always busy. Going to her room, Sahya realized just how quiet and cold her home was.

Tezuka's home had the soft pad of his grandfather's feet on the hardwood floors, the windows open to allow the birds' singing to drift through, gentle chimes outside windows for when there was a light breeze, and always the scent of his grandmother's home cooking. It was much warmer.

Sitting down on her bed, Sahya gazed around her room. Everything in it wasn't hers; it belonged to her reincarnation. There were photos in frames on the dresser, but she only recognized the Atobes and her parents in them. Everyone else was a stranger, including the man who had his arm around 'her' in one of them.

Getting up, she started putting such photos and personal items away. They weren't hers, and it felt like she'd be invading her reincarnation's memories if she left them out. So she put them away in some boxes to go in her closet. Her room was very plain without them all, but she smiled wryly. It was still just as cold as the rest of the house.

_And it's still as cold as my home was in my past life._

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"Sahya, there you are." Tezuka came out onto the roof to join her at the rail. "You left class early."

"I needed some air." She said, gazing out at the schoolyard where the various booths were being put in place. "I was getting some flashbacks, seeing everyone set this up."

_That's right. She would've seen the funfair each year...just not go to it or know what it was..._ Tezuka thought. Going up to her, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed her close to his side. He wasn't usually one for physical contact, but there was an exception to everything.

"...I'm feeling better now." She smiled as she watched the stage be set up. The entertainment had a set time instead of running all day long like the booths, so there were chairs for the audience. The fashion show would be there. She laughed lightly as she watched the freshmen and seniors work on the decorations.

Ryoma was hoisted up by Kawamura and practically thrown up to loop decorations around the supports, he being very light. From another end Oishi held a ladder for Eiji, whose remarkable balance let them not even have to lean it against something.

Tezuka followed her gaze and gave a small smile. "Any stage fright?"

"No, not really. If I can go to a dinner gala knowing no one and keep my composure, I'm sure I can handle a stage in front of an audience." Sahya said, shaking her head lightly.

"Good. Because the girls are required to come up with their own way to come onto the stage, and to present themselves to the audience. That will be everyone visiting, including all the students of the school. The entertainment ends the day."

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The next day, the weekend, students and parents flocked to school. Young children, older children, teenagers, parents, everyone came for the funfair. They went to the various unique booths set up, exploring what was there, and occasionally went into the school for something held there, such as a cafe.

Lunch time saw many people at the various food booths and cafes. Tezuka and Sahya went to see everything, and stopped for lunch in Class 1-C. They even checked their class's bakesale, which was going well.

Sahya went backstage to where a curtained off area was. Inside were people making adjustments to equipment, and girls coming out from behind the changing curtain and then having last minute adjustments to their dresses.

"I'll be in the audience." Tezuka told her, moving off after she nodded.

"Tsuriko!" Fuji waved her over, a carefully folded bundle in his arms. He smiled as she stopped in front of him. "I finished it last night. Do you need someone to help you put it on? We have some girls here who I'm sure can help you..."

"Thank you, but no. I am quite used to dresses, and changing myself." Taking the bundle from Fuji, she entered the curtain and he stood guard while she changed. There was a mirror there, and she had to admit when she unfolded the garment and held it up against her it was perfectly cut.

"This is incredible Fuji, I'm impressed."

Fuji smirked. _Good. Now let's see how Tezuka reacts to it._

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Tezuka leaned back as he watched the show commence. It was less of a fashion show and more like a competition to see who looked the best. The first girl's colour was red, and while she looked pretty there were too many frills in the dress and it was obvious she had trouble moving around with the unaccustomed weight. Her showy, flouncing routine was totally offset by it.

_Her steps are too big._ Sahya thought from behind the curtain. The girls would step out from the middle of the black curtains and present themselves, and she was in the middle of the line.

The next girl had a white lacy outfit, but some of the lace was so delicate the creator hadn't been able to sew it on the neatest. The white accented the pretty girl's dark skin, but the dress was a little too shoddily made to score well. She also hurried too much getting out onto the stage and then back in.

When the next girl came out Tezuka realized quickly that all the girls were those that the school considered pretty and beautiful. It would come down to dresses at this rate. This one had a deep blue one. But she just blatantly skipped onto the stage, and flounced herself off just like all the others did. Was that all they could do to get people's attention?

And then Sahya came, and he leaned forward slightly, breath caught. She stepped forward with small ladylike steps, slowly and delicately. She was looking down demurely, her long lashes hiding her eyes. It wasn't just his imagination making it seem like she moved through stilled time. All her movements were done with perfected grace and timing, making herself move in slow motion to capture the audience's attention and add to awe.

Her dress was a pale green, with just enough colour so that it stood out on her porcelain skin. The neckline of the dress was a v-cut that ended just below the hollow between her collarbones where a small forest green bow hung. The bodice hung off her shoulders by two forest green pieces. With her head tilted down in that demure, almost shy—but he knew she wasn't—fashion, her long platinum blond hair shimmered in the sunlight. In it was a deep green headband, with two long green ties hanging down to reach the ends of her hair.

Stopping in the center of the stage, delicate hands moved towards her side from where they were clasped neatly in her front. They gathered the sides of the skirt and she dipped down in a slow, graceful curtsy. It showed off the skirt that hung down without any extravagant frills or puffs. The front had a long triangular slit up the middle, a forest green layer seen under the pale green, with a lace hemming that was such a dark green it was almost black. Forest green heels were on her feet.

He hadn't even noticed the shoes the other girls wore. And when Sahya slowly straightened, her head started rising. Her pale pink lips curved into an angelic smile. He hadn't noticed the expressions the other girls had. Just as her head was almost gazing straight out at the audience, her eyes fluttered, drawing attention to them as well. Slowly, they opened. Clear indigo was revealed, captivating the audience and him as well.

Turning, the barest rustle of her skirt could be heard in the silence of the audience. Her skirt fell easily into place as she slowly stepped towards the curtains again. Her long platinum blond hair swayed lightly as she walked, and then she was gone through the curtains, that barely billowed and swayed in her passing.

Tezuka let out the breath he wasn't aware he was holding. Looking around trying to snap himself out of the slight daze, he noticed that he wasn't the only one who had held his breath or was absolutely entranced by Sahya. It was like she didn't even try, and all she did was walk out and curtsy before walking back, but it was like a performance. She had managed to bring out the dress and her own beauty and grace, draw attention to every little detail without effort. Something the other girls hadn't been able to do.

Four other girls went after Sahya: pink, maroon, gold, and black. But none could match her. None of them had the effect of a porcelain doll masterpiece come to life, only to flit out of their eyes' grasp.

Voting took place. The girls all stepped back out on stage to line up facing the audience. Tezuka stood and clapped with everyone else when Sahya was presented with the award: a bouquet of red roses and a small gold trophy. And of course, consolation prizes were that everyone could keep the dresses they had, if they wanted to.

"Tsuriko, have you done modeling before or something?" A girl asked, as they all gathered around backstage.

"No. I'm just used to dresses." Sahya said, smiling.

"Oh, hey, let's not change just yet." Another girl said. "The bands are playing music for dancing next! Let's go out and find a partner!"

Sahya paused, not leaving with the other girls. She could hear cheers from the other side of the curtain and the music starting up, seeing the girls get surrounded quickly with people hoping to partner with them. But she had something to do before she went out into that throng. Seeing Fuji off to the side, she approached him with a warm smile.

Returning her smile, he said "Congratulations."

"Shouldn't this be your victory?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "After all, you're the one who made the dress."

"But you're the one who made it stunning." He returned charmingly, but honestly. "Anyways, enough about me. I'm satisfied with how things have turned out, I don't need any thanks. Go on out for the dancing; I'm sure there's someone out there hoping to dance with you." He hinted.

Curtsying, Sahya hurried out. Fuji sighed, brushing a hand through his hair with a rueful smile. "Tezuka, Tezuka...You'd better not mess up with this one." Shaking his head, he went to find Kawamura to hang out with. _But she sure is from a different time and place. England a few hundred years ago...must've been interesting._

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Stepping outside, Sahya was almost overwhelmed by the people who suddenly surrounded her. Music could be heard above them, a soft, familiar tune.

"Rosepetal Waltz, I believe, is what it used to be called."

Turning at the voice, Sahya looked up into golden light brown eyes. "Kunimitsu..."

Taking her hand gently in his, he bowed and brought it to his lips. "May I have this dance?"

Giggling a bit in delight, for she really did love all the formalities and politeness from her time, she answered sweetly "You may." She let him escort her out of the throng of people onto the dance clearing.

"Do you know the Rosebud?"

Sahya looked up at him in surprise. "Yes, it's the second version. Why?"

"It's my favourite version." He replied, smiling a bit.

Smiling a heartmelting smile, Sahya started dancing with him. "Mine, too." _He just never ceases to please me. I love it._

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Sahya smiled and posed once more. A click and a flash went off. As the people just flocked off the school grounds now that the fair was over, she found it almost tiresome to wait just inside the gate for Tezuka. He had had to get papers for the tennis club, as well as clean up their class's cafe and get his bags.

She had gotten caught by people wanting photos.

"You sure were busy, weren't you doll-face?"

Sahya looked back in surprise, as the last few children left with their parents. They had been the last family, and she hadn't even realized it. Now only students remained on campus, cleaning up. But she wasn't just surprised about that. _ Who is this young man?_ She wondered.

He grinned at her. He had tousled light brown hair and dark brown eyes, with two piercings in one ear and one on the other, along with baggy beige pants and a tight black sleeveless shirt. "Aren't you looking nice, Sahya!"

She stiffened at the use of her first name. This boy was so fluent in Japanese that he must know formalities—including prefixes, at least—but he didn't use them. "Thank you." She said crisply in acknowledgement.

"Hey c'mon doll-face, you're giving me a pretty cold reception. You weren't this cold to the brats." He grabbed her arm. "No one else wants pictures, so let's go grab something to eat!" He started pulling her towards the gates.

"What...?" Eyes widening, Sahya tried to tug her arm out of his grasp. "What are you talking about?"

His grip tightened and his gaze narrowed. "What? Come on, it's me. You never complained about going out with me before, damn it. What's the big deal with you?! Quit complaining!"

_Who is this man?! What's he doing, why does he know my name...?!_


	14. Other problems

** Chapter 13: Other problems**

"Let go of me you brute!!" Sahya exclaimed, trying to wrench her arm away now.

"Brute? That's a new one. I've heard you call me tons of things doll-face, but all those've been swearing." He said, not letting go.

"I repeat, let go-!"

"SAHYA!!"

"What, who's that...?" The stranger asked, confused, as he gazed at someone running towards them.

Sahya's eyes flashed blue as she finally used her telekinesis. She twisted to get out of his grasp and a force pushed him away roughly, freeing her arm. She turned to run further into the school for safety and took only took a few steps before she collided with someone's front. Strong arms went around her and pulled her to their side as they twisted so they were partially in front of her. She caught a familiar scent. _Kunimitsu..._

"Who the hell are you?" The man sneered.

"Given the situation, I believe that's what I should be asking you." Tezuka answered in his usual serious monotone, but it had an icy edge to it. "You aren't a student at Seigaku."

"Mark. Mark Granger." He said, crossing his arms. "Now let Sahya go or else things are going to get a little nasty." He threatened.

Tezuka's only reaction to that was to tighten his grip around Sahya. "She obviously does not want to go with you. I refuse."

"What do you mean she doesn't want to go with me, I'm her fuckin' boyfriend I'll have you know! I came here from England to visit her!" Mark shouted.

"You are NOT!" Sahya retorted, slim hands gripping Tezuka's shirt. "I don't know you, and I don't appreciate you using force with me!"

"There you are Granger!"

The three of them turned at the sound of the new voice. To their surprise, none other than Atobe Keigo strode up. "Granger, you were to meet me promptly at the limo. I don't appreciate being kept waiting. You're parents are family friends, that's the only reason I haven't left already!"

"Atobe!" They exclaimed.

Atobe's eyebrows rose as he took in the situation. Tezuka hadn't released his protective hold on Sahya. And Mark was quite annoyed. Understanding dawned on him rather quickly. "Granger, a quick word with you." He said through gritted teeth.

Putting his hand roughly on Mark's shoulder, Atobe brought him aside for a minute to speak lowly with him. "What part of my explanation did you NOT understand?! When I said she didn't remember anyone from before the coma, I wasn't joking! This is why I told you to just go back to England."

"I thought that maybe if she saw me and we hung out she'd remember!" Mark protested.

"And I told you when you said that that it was pointless, especially with the rough way you've always treated her!" Atobe snapped back. "If she didn't remember how she always fought with me, what makes you think she'd remember you? What you had with Tsuriko is gone. She's no longer the Tsuriko we knew, she's someone different entirely. And I'm not sure but that's probably more than figuratively speaking." _She could very well __be__ someone else._

"But..." Mark's protest was very weak now.

"You can see it too. She's obviously his now." Atobe said, indicating Tezuka. "Frankly, I think they go well together, and if I didn't think that I would have tried to have her before, when I realized she didn't remember me. But I know you can see it too. He cares for her, now. It's him, not you."

Mark's shoulders slumped dejectedly. "...I guess..."

"You're here for a week.At least _try_ not to do anything stupid." With that, Atobe brought him back to the waiting couple. "I apologize for any trouble he caused. He's visiting my family from England. I'm bringing him back now. Let's go Granger."

Tezuka nodded acknowledgement, relaxing his hold on Sahya. She dipped down in a small curtsy, holding it until both of them left, Mark with one long look back at her. Tezuka bent down to check her face for any indication of how she was feeling. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Thank you..." Sahya hugged him. Pulling away, she admitted quietly "I guess I was a bit scared, but it all worked out."

"So he knew your reincarnation." He commented casually. The boyfriend part bothered him.

"Apparently, but as you know I don't have any of her memories." Sahya said. "As far as I am concerned, he has no claims over _me_."

"I agree." Tezuka said, taking her hand as they walked off, away to his house—once again. Her parents always left money for Regan to keep food in Sahya's house, but other than that they didn't even phone to check on her wellbeing. She still came to his house every day after school.

"Do you become upset that your parents are never home...?" Tezuka asked quietly. His parents had died when he was young, but he still had his caring grandparents to raise him. He couldn't imagine what it must've been like for Sahya, who hadn't had parents there for her in either lifetime, and having had no one in between lives.

"Well..." Sahya smiled a bit sadly. "Of course I'm sad about it. But I don't think it's being upset as much as it's...understanding. They're busy people. And apparently I have an older brother in this life. They're busy with him because he's taking over the company. _She_ was always the problem child, and they ignored her. Now that I'm here, though, it seems that they think I've done fine myself, and so leave me to it..."

"...Do you ever mind that people treat you like a doll?" He asked.

"...No." Sahya smiled. "Not since I met you."

"So..." Tezuka wrapped his arms around her from behind. "...Will you be my doll?" He asked quietly into her ear. He couldn't take it much longer; he had always wanted to just...hold her. Keep her in his arms, protect her, hold her, comfort her, that delicate porcelain doll with the shattered soul.

Sahya leaned back into the comfort of his embrace. "Only yours? Sure." She smiled and raised her arms to put them around his neck. "I don't mind it if I'm your doll."

**_Author's Notes:_**

**Alright I know that was very, VERY OOC at the end, but some things in this series happen to be a personal fantasy of how I wish to be treated by the person I really care about. And I've always thought that Tezuka has a protective streak, which isn't just conjecture if you notice how well he takes care of the team. And he's got to thaw out for _someone_.**


	15. Her smile

** Chapter 14: Her smile**

"Tsuriko-senpai and Tezuka-senpai? Yeah, they always go to the roof at lunch. We can see Tezuka-senpai when he leans on the railing."

"Really? Thanks."

The two Seigaku school girls glanced at each other in confusion and then at the retreating light brown haired figure. Why did he want to know? One of the girls suddenly had an idea. "Oh yeah, Valentine's Day's coming up you know! I bet he's looking into Tsuriko-senpai!"

"Right!" Her friend agreed. "She's so beautiful and perfect, such a doll! All the senpais talk about her well, and I bet they wish they'll get some chocolate. I can't wait to see who she ends up choosing!"

"Oh c'mon, it's SO obvious!"

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Tezuka went up onto the roof and leaned against the rail in his usual spot, waiting for Sahya. Well, that was his initial reason for coming up. The other reason that ranked slightly lower now that she existed was that today was Valentine's Day. He sighed. Before, the roof had been where he'd get away from all the chaos.

The door opened and closed and he was surprised to see Sahya a little out of breath. Her eyes flashed blue once and he guessed that she locked the door or something along those lines. If that were the case, he was grateful.

Sahya caught her breath and offered him a bright, warm smile. "Sorry I'm late. I had people following me so that they could find you!" She walked over and felt the wind blow her hair. As he almost always did on the windier days, Tezuka turned away from the rail and started pulling the strands of platinum silk from Sahya's face in the start of a braid.

As he worked, Sahya stood patiently and started some conversation. "I locked the door. And I took an extremely round about way to get here. That should keep the masses away from here for a little while."

"Thank you." Tezuka said, pulling out a beautiful white ribbon with lace. He used that to hold the braid together. "Done."

Sahya brought the end of her braid forward to finger the ribbon. "It's beautiful, Kunimitsu."

"I thought you'd like it." He said, looking away in embarrassment. "So I bought it for you."

Smiling, Sahya hugged him, and allowed him to keep his arms around her even when she let go. "...I have something for you, too." She said finally. From her pocket she pulled out a simple package. It was a small, long red box with a simple gold ribbon. "For Valentine's Day. I know you got a lot of chocolate already, though, so…"

He took it with a smile. "It's alright. Thank you, Sahya." He tucked it away into his schoolbag.

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After school the Regulars all got together in the tennis courts. Each had their own bags of chocolate, although some of them had a plastic bag full as well. Tezuka was one of those. Momoshiro looked at Inui. "So Inui-senpai, what place did you pick out this year?"

"Place?" Ryoma asked in confusion.

"Yes." Oishi said. "Each year we all get so much chocolate that we choose a place to give it away to, like a homeless shelter, a charity, you know..."

Inui pushed his glasses up and said "I thought we should go to an orphanage this year. There's one close to here."

"Good, let's walk there." Kawamura suggested.

Tezuka was about to offer to take Sahya's bag again, but she smiled and shook her head. "It's alright, your hands are full. It won't hurt me to carry my own bag."

"So did you manage to give out all your Valentine's Day chocolate?" Fuji asked her.

"Yes." Sahya smiled, but it grew smaller as she added "My parents don't come home until next week, so I had to send it to my father."

"I hope he gets it on time." Fuji said.

"Senpai..." Ryoma said, leaving it open as to who he was talking to, "Should we really be giving all the chocolate away?"

"Well you can keep the one from Sakuno-chan." Eiji said cheerfully. "But it's fine, nya! Right Fuji?"

Fuji smiled pleasantly. "Of course it is. The girls give us the chocolate so they're happy, we give away the chocolate so we're happy, and the people we give the chocolate to are happy. In the end everyone got what they wanted, so there's nothing wrong."

_Seeing him use that logic with that smile is kind of scary..._ Ryoma thought. "Oh, is this the orphanage?" He asked, pointing to a building.

They all entered, and after talking with the head woman there they went into the kitchen to drop off the bags. Children scurried around everywhere. As the Regulars dumped the chocolate out of their bags and set the plastic bags down on the table, one of the kids bumped into the leg and some of the overfull bags lost some chocolate. Their schoolbags were all knocked off as well.

"It's alright, don't worry about it." Tezuka assured the woman as she tried to get the child to come back—unsuccessfully—to apologize. The Regulars were already picking the cutely and elaborately decorated boxes up.

"Oh, you missed one over here nya!" Eiji exclaimed, holding up one. "It's a lot plainer than the other ones..." He noticed. Standing, he was about to put it in a bag when Tezuka took it from his hands.

"All of them can go in the bags except for this one. This one..." He tucked it back into his school bag and closed it, moving it to a counter instead for safety. _...This one I'm keeping._

"Ehhhhhhh? Tezuka's keeping someone's chocolate?!" Eiji exclaimed.

"Wha?! Whose, whose?!" The Regulars asked in surprise.

"...Sahya's..."

The Regulars grinned in an 'aw-isn't-that-sweet-we-all-knew-it' way. Momoshiro looked around. "Hey, where is Tsuriko-senpai anyways?"

"The children stole her when we first came in." Fuji answered. "I think she's playing a small piano for them."

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"Young Miss, a package came for you today."

"Thank you Regan." Sahya said, taking it from the butler. Going into her room, she opened the box and pulled out a cute white dress. _Today's March 14, which means...it's White's Day...that means..._ She smiled happily. "Father sent it to me since I sent him chocolate!"

Changing out of her uniform, she chose to wear the dress instead. The school was making an exception and allowing the girls to dress in white instead of the uniform today. She examined herself in the mirror. The dress was like that of a cute little girl's. It was thin and light in the sleeves which were short and had a white ribbon threaded through them at the ends.

It had a normal curved neckline but the bodice had a bit of white lace at the top and ribbons tied around from where they were attached on the sides into little bows at her front. The skirt flared out and went down to her knees, with lace along the hem and wavy layers. Along the bottom waves were little white bows. The outfit came complete with white strap heels that had small bows on top of the foot and white gloves with lace at the ends that went halfway to her elbows.

Once she arrived at school, Sahya saw that many girls wore white. The guys still wore the uniform. She received a lot of looks as she walked to her class. While in the hall she passed Eiji and Fuji. "Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Eiji exclaimed. "That's so cute nya!"

"It is, isn't it?" Fuji agreed, and then looked past her and said "Morning Tezuka."

Tezuka nodded in reply, then turned his attention to Sahya. When she turned around to smile at him, he caught his breath. She was _cute_. He smiled a bit. "That dress looks good on you." He complimented. "Did your father get that for you?" He asked knowingly.

Sahya's innocent, almost childlike happy smile gave it away and she nodded. "Yes. He got the chocolate I sent him, and even though he's on a trip he sent back this dress!"

"...I'm glad he did." Tezuka said honestly. He knew how much that meant to her, having her parents show that they cared even a little. And if she was this happy, he couldn't help but be in a good mood as well. Going into the classroom with Sahya, he set a small white box down on the desk as he pulled her sideways onto his lap, something he wasn't sure when he had started. "For White's Day." He explained.

Opening the box, Sahya saw two small pearl earrings. Putting them on, she looked up at Tezuka and smiled her thanks. He pulled the white lace ribbon he had gotten her and tied that into her hair on the side of her head. "...There. You have everything now." He said.

Neither of them was surprised when they started getting a crowd of students from various classes crowding in the doorway staring at them. They were practically the most popular couple in the school.

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Sahya followed a little ways behind Tezuka as they went up to the roof as usual. Tezuka strode over to the rail to lean on it like he usually did. Sahya started to follow him there, but someone suddenly grabbed her arms, holding her back. "Wha-?"

She was cut off by a loud creaking of metal as the railing Tezuka was leaning against suddenly broke and fell forward. "Kunimitsu!!" She exclaimed, trying to get over to the edge of the roof. "Let me go! Let me go!" She cried.

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"Did you hear something...?" Eiji asked suddenly. All the Regulars were eating outside today.

"Look!!" Fuji exclaimed, pointing to the roof.

"Tezuka!!" They shouted. The railing was broken, dangling off the roof, and Tezuka was just barely hanging onto the end of it. Standing, they dropped their lunches where they were and ran into the school and through the halls to the stairs as fast as they could.

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"I think he fell all the way...I'm surprised he didn't scream..."

"Granger!" Sahya exclaimed, realizing who was behind her. "What are you doing here?!"

"Calm down doll-face I came here for you. Now that the other guy's out of the way." Mark said, grinning. "Of course I had to keep you from going over there or you'd fall too."

"Kunimitsu!!" Sahya's eyes glowed blue as Mark was suddenly forced to let go of her and was flung into the wall next to the door. He slumped down, unconscious. Sahya ran to the edge of the roof and looked down. Tezuka, at that moment, lost his grip on the metal and started falling.

She had to save him. Somehow. **_But if you do, you'll die too._ **A voice said in her head._**...Again.** **You'll die again.**_** _Do you really want to go through that a second time?_** She swallowed hard. No, she really didn't._ **It was horrible. And who knows when the next person will come around? 100 years? 200? Will they ever? You'll be in that room, all alone..**._She shut her eyes tightly as she made up her mind.

The door burst open and the Regulars rushed onto the roof. They stopped as they saw Mark on the floor next to them and Sahya standing at the ledge, but Tezuka wasn't there. Before they said anything, Sahya's whole body started glowing blue.

_Better I experience it twice than Kunimitsu once!_

Tezuka blinked. Suddenly he wasn't falling anymore. He was standing on firm ground. On the edge of the roof, more precisely. _Sahya?!_ Looking down, he saw her falling instead of him. She was smiling that angelic smile, amidst a platinum halo from her waving hair and dressed like a cute angel doll in her dress that flowed around her.

_Live, Kunimitsu...I can send you my smile one last time, because I know...I know that you'll live..._

Tezuka took a step away from the ledge and stood there in sorrow and shock. _She traded places with me..._ He was going to die, not her. It wasn't her fault that the railing broke. But she had decided to take the fall instead of him. She had decided...to die again.

This wasn't right. He had wanted her to get over her fear of death, but not like this. Sahya had gotten another chance to live! She was enjoying her life, and because of her he was enjoying his life..._All I wanted...was to hold her, and protect that smile..._

That smile that she had given him one last time. It would be a bittersweet memory.

_All I wanted was to be with her._


	16. God's intervention

** Chapter 15: God's intervention**

To be with her. _Was that really such an impossible thing to ask for?_ Tezuka thought, his hands at his sides. "...Sahya..."

The others stared solemnly at their captain. "Tezuka..." Oishi murmured worriedly, but didn't—couldn't bring himself to—say anything else. Ryoma pulled his cap down over his eyes. Kaidoh remained silent, but he was glaring at the ground. Momoshiro had his fists clenched, gritting his teeth. Eiji had an outright crestfallen look on his face, and Kawamura looked depressed. Inui bit his bottom lip slightly.

Sahya had made her way into all of their hearts in some way. They hadn't known her those extra few weeks Tezuka did, didn't know everything about her like he surely did, but they had still spent the last six months with her. And one month had been enough for them to know that she was special. Special, and irreplaceable by someone else. Going into the change room to see her embroidery of them on the wall would bring painful memories.

Suddenly, a golden beam of light shot down to strike Tezuka through the chest. His body lifted and glowed, then disappeared. The others went back to staring. "...Tezuka...?" It was half thought, half spoken among all of them. Now what would they face?

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Tezuka slowly opened his eyes. He was surrounded by light. Where was he?

_**It was a test.**_

What? The voice had come from nowhere. "...What was a test?" He asked, not too worried about a bodiless voice. Not after seeing Sahya as a bodiless soul.

_**If she was alive, would she be selfish? Would she move on?...Would she let someone else die instead of her, she who had a second chance to live without regrets?**_

_So the time she was alive...was a test to see what she would act like?_ Tezuka thought in understanding. If that was the case... "Then did she pass?" He asked worriedly.

Tezuka held his breath as he waited for an answer.

_**... ... Yes. She has passed. Now she awaits someone to come bring her back. Retrieve her, and all will be resolved.**_

Turning, Tezuka saw a large silver chair. Sitting on it and looking quite small and delicate in comparison, was Sahya. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was sleeping. Striding over, Tezuka stroked her face gently, making sure she was real. "Sahya..." He said in relief. Carefully he picked her up in his arms.

_**Take care of her.**_

That was the last he heard from the voice as he saw a doorway open up. He slowly started walking towards it, out of this realm of light.

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"Look!" Eiji exclaimed. A large beam of light shone down on the roof from the sky. They all watched with baited breaths for what would come from it. Slowly, they could make out a figure coming towards them through it. Their eyes widened as they saw Tezuka, carrying Sahya.

"Tezuka-buchou!" They shouted in relief.

The light disappeared. Kaidoh looked to the side and said suddenly "Where did that go? The one who rigged the rail?"

"Granger?" Tezuka asked. He looked around the roof, but the man from England was nowhere in sight.

"Over here." Fuji called. They all went over to the tensai to see what he was looking at. Reaching the edge of the roof, they looked down.

There on the ground was the body of Mark Granger.

"...How...?" Inui asked to no one in particular.

"Some things are better not to ask." Ryoma answered.

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Sahya slowly opened her eyes to find herself on the roof of the school. The sky was just starting to turn red and clubs were finishing up and dismissing students out in the courtyard. She was sitting between Tezuka's legs, leaning against him. Looking behind and up, her eyes held unspoken questions.

Tezuka looked down once he realized she was awake and his arms tightened around where they were around her waist. Pulling her into an almost crushing embrace, he dropped his head onto her shoulder. "...You're awake. It's all over now." He said quietly.

"What is?" She asked.

"Kami-sama interfered. You're alive for good." He answered. "...Granger fell. He was tampering with the rail and then it broke on him. We came up just in time to see him go, but couldn't help." He paused. "...That's what everyone believes they saw."

"..." Sahya closed her eyes and tilted her head back to lean on his shoulder. "So...does nothing stop us then? Can we..."

"...Stay together?" Tezuka finished. He nodded, a smile forming. "Yeah." He held up her left hand to show her a silver ring that was now on her finger. "_Tezuka Kunimitsu_." He read, turning the ring a bit so she could also read the tiny engraved writing.

He then brought her hand to his left ear, where she saw a small silver ring earring was now hanging, when he hadn't even had a piercing before. "_Tsuriko Sahya._" She read. Slowly, she started smiling as well. Noticing Tezuka leaning in, she closed her eyes.

Softly, he kissed her, letting it .

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"Sahya."

Sahya looked up from where she waited on a bench to see Tezuka coming out of the change room. He smiled and took her hand as they started walking out of school for the day. Behind them, the Regulars caught up, and they walked as a group of strong friends.

Thinking of the embroidery hanging in the change room, they thought how it would bring back happy memories and good times.

Thinking of Sahya's smile, they thought how it would bring peace of mind and a smile on their own faces.

Thinking, they watched the two ahead of them.

Sahya leaned into Tezuka a bit. His grip tightened slightly, protectively, around her hand. That hand that he swore not to let go of for as long as he lived. He would stay with her, his doll, his love, his ...his Sahya. And she would not leave him. Not for her parents, not for past acquaintances, not for anyone.

_That is love_. They thought, smiling at the happy couple ahead of them.

_That...is a miracle._

And that...is The End.

**Author's Notes:**

So I'm sorry if you felt Tezuka was too OOC at times, but I wanted to make it seem like he was softening up...you know? And the Regulars didn't have many active roles in this, so I'm sorry to those who hoped for them to be more involved. I'll try to do that with a different fic. Thank you for reading!


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